Legends: Beginnings
by Toilet Paper Roll
Summary: Legends always seem to have a way to sneak into the lives of those who do not go looking for them. The past is not always gone, the dead do not always stay dead, and the wilds of the world are not as big as they once were. *Illusion of Gaia-centered*
1. Prologue: As The World Goes On

Legends: Beginnings

Disclaimer: **I do not own anything that is related, remotely related, or is in the game, **_Illusions of Gaia_**. It is owned by Enix and all related companies. All Original Characters, Stories, and anything else that is not in, related to, or remotely related to the game, was solely created for creative and entertainment purposes. Thank you for your time.**

Author's Note: **There are a few things that I need to quickly cover before the story begins, and I promise that this will be the longest Author's Note that will grace this story. Just a fair warning that this note does cover several paragraphs, and I have no intention of making a separate chapter just for the sake of a small note.**

**For the creative purposes of this story and any other **_Illusion of Gaia_** fan fics I may or may not write, I have made Freedan and Shadow as two separate characters even though in the game they are both supposed to be transformations of Will, or as close to it as I imagine they are. I am going to assume for the most part that they are/were, in fact, two separate characters before, during, and after the game and had to bend to Gaia's will. This roughly means that that they had to transfer their own images/allow themselves to do whatever Mother Nature wanted them to do. This is just my random thinking, and I have been wrong in the past before so if I AM wrong I don't mind any directions to sites that say otherwise.**

**For the most part this story does not, in fact, take place during **_Illusions of Gaia's_ **original game canon time frame, nor does it take place during any of the other two **_Soul Blazer_** canon time frames. In fact I am going to assume that this story does take place in the "new world" at the end of the game. I am taking liberty with some key elements from the game and spinning it my own way, hence the term "fan fiction". This story is in no way, shape, or form supposed to be taken as cannon nor does it imply that everything canon is to be used properly or is cannon itself. I have taken some liberty with a few things here and there.**

**Please also be aware that until a couple of years ago, I never even realized that **_Illusion of Gaia_** had been a part of a series! So anything that has happened in those games that may or may not have any impact on **_this_** game will be ignored for the sake of this story or until such time as I get a copy of said games and actually, you know, **_play_** them.**

**I also do not assume that I am the best out there in terms of writing, nor should I assume I'm the worst either. I much rather receive constructive criticism over the normal "this is great!" type of comments, although I don't mind them. This prologue will be short and done in the first person view, but the rest of the story is done in the third person and the chapters will be considerably longer. Most of the chapters will be in the 2,500-6,000 word range, depending the chapter.**

**If anyone has any problems with this story - they don't like it, it's not that kind of story they like, or have another reason entirely - the back button is your friend. I do not take kindly to people who, for whatever reason, decide they want to flame this story instead of just getting the hell away from it. Thank you for your time.**

Prologue - **As The World Goes On**

The ways of the ancients and the old ways of civilizations past seem to change and morph into modern ideals that are more foreign then one remembers. They move on without the notion that some just don't want that change to happen and damn the new ways, in whatever form they want to take. Everything changes, everything moves to the tune of the universe and it's always the ones that had gone by the ways of old that are stuck in the middle of a new world and the world of the old, like standing in a trance between light and dark.

They stare at the world from inside their prisons that they call their bodies, the vessels in which house something deeper, in hopes that if they stand there long enough the world would go back to the way it once was. Then they find that life has moved on without them and won't be going back to the days of old before they realize that they have stood by without a care. That is the world in which all humans live in, regardless if they find the courage to accept the fact that they can't change what refuses to change nor can they do anything about it.

That's the way I've found the world to be as life, as I watch from a distant shoreline in hopes that, one day, the Earth that I knew as a child would return to the way it once had been. But who am I to say what comes and goes with the gentle lapping of the sea against the beach? I am just an immortal soul, trapped forever in a body that hasn't aged in centuries since my late teen years. I only live to serve the one person that has kept me alive all these countless years, the mistress that I had died once for already and most likely would do it again for.

Maybe that's the cold truth behind what I do, what I see in the dense jungles of the island - or it could be something else entirely. I have control of my own body, when I am allowed to roam freely amongst the birds and animals. My mind is my own even with her not too far away, like what normal humans call "little voices inside their mind". She is always there, keeping me confined to what I know and can do but allowing me to be of my own free will. _I_ made the choice to serve her and continue to do so to this day, even with the knowledge that I could never live in the world that has changed so much since the days of old. She, in return for the services I have given, gave me more than a mortals mind could ever think of.

Or perhaps it had to do with the way the past has treated me that I look out into the great, vast ocean and hope that the future is better then the way the world has treated me. I can't say for sure what my life was like before or, rather, can't remember every detail that has transpired prior to me becoming what I am now. Perhaps it's just fate that I am standing here, looking out into a world that has gone on without me and will continue to change for the better or for the worse. The world has a few more billion years to live, and I will be watching every day until I am released from my duties whenever She wishes to.

I am out of my own slumber, out of it for five decades now or more if I remember correctly, and have wandered around the island more then I care to admit. There is only so much I can do on an island that I do not wish to leave out of my own accord but rather I listen to what the wind has told me and what information she has given me. There are tasks that need to be done that I cannot do on this island but the fear of the changed Earth has left me unable to carry them out. She knows this and understands, like a Mother understanding her Child; these tasks are not meant to be fully carried out. I do not understand this and cannot for my own sake. What drives me to act like I do is not something that I will admit freely to myself or to anyone else - not even to Her despite that She knows what happened.

There is a tug at the back of my mind, a soft voice that coaxes me out of my daydreams. The day is still young as I look up at the sky above and force myself to smile; I have seen too many days that my appreciation for the blue sky and white clouds has dwindled to almost nothing. I still see a certain beauty in it and that beauty has kept me alive for so many years that I've lost count as to how long I have actually been alive.

I sigh and put my head down, turning around to face the forest that has become my home for the longest time. She has called me back in front of her once again, to tell me something of importance that I must know or She would not have called me. It is a destiny in a world that goes on without me and a world that will become entangled in something that no mortal should become involved in again.

As I move towards and then into the forest, I do no sense the presence of a dark force that forms out in the wilds of another island. It has clouded itself against my own given powers and that of the one I serve; had we known it would return after decades of slumber, I would not have remained on the island. I would not have been commanded to stay, but to get rid of the taint that I, myself, had fought before.

_And we - that dark force and myself - will clash together once again._

Until Next Time


	2. Chapter One: To The Ocean

Legends: Beginnings

Disclaimer: **I do not own anything that is related, remotely related, or is in the game, **_Illusions of Gaia_**. It is owned by Enix and all related companies. All Original Characters, Stories, and anything else that is not in, related to, or remotely related to the game, was solely created for creative and entertainment purposes. Thank you for your time.**

Chapter One - **To The Ocean**

The day was clear and bright as it should be, with the waves of the ocean lapping against the water and the barely cloudy day smiling down upon the sunny side of the planet. Sea gulls cawed from the lonely shores of the bay, circling around the bodies of the dead fish that washed upon the dark sand and ate the rotting meat and sun bleached bones of these same fish. The rumbles of a past storm were long since gone, at least two days had passed since the ocean here had churned and hissed and clashed with the land; now the water was calm and carefree as it had been before.

The dark clouds had moved in the direction some boats were going in but none - save for a few weary travelers - took much notice of the sounds of the angry weather. It was just too much of a beautiful day to spend indoors and the day would be wasted if anyone were afraid of a small storm. It was expected to have storms along the seaside, common in most regards, and a part of the life that lived in this small section of paradise. Those that made their lives by the sea did not even bother to dwell on the storms, they had seen much worse.

The sun bore down from the light blue sky above, casting its shadow down upon a small port town that was far away from any large cities or towns - those were at least an hour and a half away at the most, save for the small village a mile and a half away. The name had been changed countless times since the port had been founded a number of years ago and was the center of fishing tours, shrimp boats, and small fishing charters that sailed up and down the coast. Tourists came year-round for the sole purpose of relaxing in the small town when they placed their lives behind them for a short while and became another being entirely when they walked along the free beach a half of a mile away from where the docks ended.

Out on the open water or closer to the docks, horns from the fishing boats indicated that they were either coming in from the water with their catch or going out to sea to find the things that they were looking for or taking people out into the deep blue nothing. People walked along the upper dock - a cobble, stone, and metal walkway that sat twenty feet above the lower pier and was more of a boardwalk then an actual dock - and gazed out into the open ocean; some were of the seaman type as they went back and forth from the upper dock to the lower dock by way of ramps or ladders that went down to the lower dock, others were onlookers. Tourists that wanted to get a glimpse of the life that those at sea had or were going out into that same uncertain water.

Three did not fall in either one of those categories as they stood silently apart from the hustle of a bustling port that seemed to have very little rest even during the off season. A boy of about ten or so stood between a woman of about forty and a younger woman of about seventeen, pushing his sunglasses down to stare blankly at the latest batch of tourists that wandered by them. He barely even took notice when a smaller child - around the age of three - wandered up to him and smiled up at him without knowing that he was a complete stranger. The boy had his eyes diverted somewhere else, even when he pushed a strand of dirty blonde hair over his right ear. He work a pair of neat blue jeans and a baggy black shirt with a pair of white sneakers, clothing not meant to be worn in a place such as the port.

The older woman was constantly looking at her watch, tapping a heeled foot on the ground before looking out into the ocean beyond their reach. Impatience read on her face like a book, a frown deepening her features even more so, and her arms uncrossed and crossed many times over. There was annoyance in her eyes that went hand-in-hand with her impatience, her eyes rolling beneath the green-tinted sunglasses that she wore to protect her eyes.

It appeared that she had other plans then to stand at a port's upper dock and wait for someone to show up for a tour or to return her and her family back to the cities just beyond their reach. She was a pretty woman, clothed in a pair of light colored pressed pants and a short sleeved white polo shirt with a pair of high-heeled tan shoes. Neither herself nor her son appeared to be tourists or would stay long, just until they dropped off the woman's daughter elsewhere.

The only one that appeared to be enjoying the docks was the teenage girl with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes staring out from black sunglasses. Although she did have a slightly worried expression on her face she was determined to take in all that was around her, even smiling at the woman who came to retrieve her child that was trying to get her brother's attention. Her mother sniffed when the other woman walked away, looking down at her watch again and taking in a deep sigh of annoyance and boredom.

The girl did not seem to notice, taking out a yellow band to tie her hair up with out of the purse she carried and pulled her hair into a small bun at the back of her head. She was the only one that seemed to wearing any kind of clothing fit for the port, shorts that were an inch and a half above her knees with a short sleeve shirt and sandals for shoes.

There were very few luggage at the girl's feet, just enough to get her through a few days' trip to somewhere other than the port and where the smaller boats would be able to take her to. Two small luggage sat in front of her, things that she did not already have elsewhere and one was nearly empty save for some underwear and bras; it had been intentional that she had done that as she would be bringing back more than what she was taking. Strapped to her back was a dark green book bag that carried small things that would help bring some sort of comfort on any trips that she would go on.

The other two did not have anything with them besides the clothing that were on their bodies and perhaps a change of clothing in their car; they were not planning on going on an extended trip like the young lady was and would return for her in several months' time.

"Where is your father? He should have been here by now," the woman muttered hurriedly as she took off her sunglasses, putting them far away enough from her eyes to see if there was anything to clean off. "Always late, he is. I wish that he wouldn't do this. We may have had other appointments today."

"Father comes when he comes, mom. Can't blame him for not coming sooner," the girl told her, shifting her weight from one foot to the other without even looking towards her mother. "You've cleaned your glasses ten times in the last fifteen minutes. Don't you think they are clean enough as it is?"

"Around here, Katherine dear, one has to clean themselves every few minutes so that they don't bring anything home with them." The woman gave her daughter a sideways look that told her to be quiet, putting her glasses back onto her nose and rolling her eyes behind the glasses. A passing tourist gave the woman a look, as the girl, Katherine, rolled her eyes as well but had her head turned elsewhere just in case her mother was watching her. "Honestly, honey, your father is _always_ late and rarely early. Maybe he should get a better watch or something in order to keep himself on time."

"Don't assume that he is late just for the sole purpose of annoying _you_," Katherine told her with a deep frown as she turned her head towards her. "Sometimes you don't notice he is right next to you for twenty minutes until you turn around to see someone standing next to you."

"Don't give your mother such a headache, Kat," a low voice said from not far from her right before the woman could say anything to her daughter. Katherine jumped slightly at the voice, turning around sideways as her frown vanished and a big smile replaced it. A man walked the last few steps towards them and stopped, his own sly smile appearing on his lips when he reached the trio. He was not much older than the woman with sandy blonde hair, baggy jeans, and a tucked in shirt that looked like it was too faded and too old to be wearing. Many years spending outdoors gave him a tan and a few extra wrinkles that he did not need but was in otherwise good health.

"I don't like you to call her that, Michael," the woman growled huffily as Kat threw her arms around her father for a hug. The boy that stood next to his mother did not move when he saw his father, his arms crossing over his chest and his own frown taking shape. And he would not budge until his mother told him that they were leaving, keeping still like a statue and remaining cold towards the man that he was forced to call _father._ "It is such a horrid name for her even when she was younger. It's not proper for her to..."

"And she doesn't like it when you call her by her full name," the one called Michael interjected with a dull tone, glaring at the other over top his daughter's head just before she broke off the hug. He patted Kat's shoulder and smiled rather forcibly so that the discomfort of having to be borderline nice with his former wife would be too apparent on his face. "She is off from school now, right? Just making sure that she won't be late for her last year of school."

"Yes, she is. She'll be going back to it at the beginning of September so I would like it if you had her back by the middle of July. You have a solid month with her," the mother told him as Michael picked up the luggage that was next to the girl, giving the boy a quick look; he did not expect his son to hug him as well and, despite his cool appearance, felt a passing of hurt at that.

"Why? I am sure that she has everything all set for her to go back already since you seem to like to get that settled half way through the school year," he said in a rather forced disappointed tone. "Besides the ship she's scheduled to be on coming back from the island won't be docking back here until the twenty-first of August so I'm sure that she can get everything together before school starts."

Despite knowing that this conversation would not be finished that easily, Michael turned around and stared to walk in the direction of the closest ramp to them and where he had come from to make sure that the family they were leaving behind did not know the exact boat that he had been on. Kat gave her mother a fleeting look, said a rather quick goodbye to her and her brother, and followed her father all the while fixing the straps of her book bag. She couldn't say that she was sorry that she didn't give them a more proper goodbye and was more than a bit glad that she would be leaving them behind; she was, however, sad that the summer spent away from them would go by too quick for her liking.

The woman had watched the two of them go without any other words with her mouth hanging open slightly for twenty seconds before she stomped towards the two that were leaving her behind. The boy stared after his mother, sister, and father as he blinked his eyes without so much as a word, thought, or movement coming from him; as long as it didn't concern him he wouldn't budge an inch. It was best to let his mother get out the pent-up frustrations on someone else rather than himself and he was in no rush to divert any more attention to him then there had been, as little as it was.

"If you don't have her back when _I_ want her to be back, she isn't going," the mother snapped as she caught up with Michael and her daughter. Kat slowed down her pace enough so that she wouldn't get any part of her mother's wraith, her head shaking and fleeting smiles to passerby's as they stared and moved away from them.

"She will be eighteen at the end of the week, therefore you won't be able to say anything about her coming back after that," he responded as politely as he could in the presence of his children. Inside, however, a boiling pit of anger was slowly rising up. "You wouldn't want me to take this birthday present away from her, now would you? You do realize that this kind of trip won't happen again in our lifetime, right?"

"Michael, this is your - our - daughter we are talking about here," she reminded him as she stepped in front of him, causing him to stop walking and give her his total attention. Katherine stopped as well, moving her sunglasses down her nose in order to give both of her parents a look. "I don't like the idea of her going into an unknown territory without any supervision. You don't know what is out there."

"While you may be right that we don't, I've been living on that island full-time since well before we divorced and both of our children have been it since before they could walk. Remember?" Michael told her with a knowing look. "You've been there before and _know_ what it's like so don't act like you don't know."

"I'm not talking about _that_ island," she shouted at him with a very raised voice. "The ones that have little to no civilizations on them are the ones I'm worried about."

"This is no different than all of the times that I had her on other trips when she was a mere child, unable to walk. I seriously doubt you realize how much trouble it took for this to happen," he answered, now attempting to step around her yet she matched every movement that he made. Annoyance set on his face and the restraint he had in keeping calm and nice was starting to crumble. "Look, if it makes you feel any better there will be a lot more people around then me, my travel guides, and a few other people. They know the land better than anyone else and know what to do in case something happens. Besides it is not like we are going into the territory without any protection."

"That's also what I am afraid of." She glanced in Kat's direction who, while looking out into the open ocean, had almost the same expression on her face. "What if she turns on you?"

"Just because she placed a knife at your throat three years ago doesn't mean she will do the same to me." Michael smiled absently as he shrugged. "Then again, I wasn't the one that backed her into a corner while yelling things in her face. Or don't you remember?"

She stared at him for what seemed like an eternity, her mouth open enough so that her face looked more shocked then her eyed-liked look told him. Then her mouth moved into a thin line, her eyes darting over towards her son before resting upon her daughter. Now she had narrowed eyes at the girl - who was looking out into the open sea - and fought back the urge to take her by the hand, turn her around, and take both of her children away from the ocean. All to spite the man standing before her; the thought of it made her smile, her attention moving solely on Michael.

"Be that as it may, I still have some say in this before she legally becomes an adult. I do not think that you should take her so lightly especially since you are the one that lets her get away with more than enough." She smiled tightly and with a joy in seeing Michael's face tense up.

"She is old enough to take care of herself and has been able to do so since she was younger than our son is." He glanced over his shoulder for a moment before returning his gaze forwards. "I really do not have the time to continue this discussion at this time. We are going to miss the boat so please step out of my way so she doesn't spend another miserable summer stuck on some forsaken yacht that she doesn't even want to be on."

"Fine, have it your way," she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest as she stepped several paces to the left. "Even to this day I do not know why you turned away from everything that you had."

"Because it wasn't - isn't - me." Michael gave her a swift nod and a half-hearted smile as he placed a luggage bound hand around Kat's upper back to guide her forwards. They walked away from the mother and towards the open ocean in silence until they were away from the dock and on the waves of a new journey. The woman turned around to watch the two walk swiftly down the dock to a ramp that would allow them to get to the lower docks, the boy moving to her side with a confused and dark look on his face.

"You're going to let her go, aren't you?" He asked, looking at his other before turning his gaze to the two figures that descended the ramp. The woman sighed, closed her eyes for ten seconds then longingly looked out into the deep blue sea.

"I suppose I have to let her go," she mused thoughtfully, watching the two laugh at something before they disappeared out of their sight. "She is, after all, old enough now to make her own choices. But that still doesn't mean anything other than that she is still too much of a child."

"Sure she is, mother. Sure she is." Shaking his head, he turned around and started to walk towards where their car was parked and away from the salty air. He knew better to judge how his sister did, after all Kat knew things that he did not. The woman stood where she was at that position for another two minutes, a sigh escaping her lips as she also turned around and followed her son. It was a bit hard leaving her daughter in the hands of her former husband but it was what she wanted and she couldn't stop it none the least.

Maybe it would be for the best. Maybe.

XXX

A pair of eyes had watched the entire scene unfold in front of it as its material body shifted under the shadow of a tree that had been planted near one of the few bait and tackle shops at the upper portion of the dock. It was clothed entirely in black and stood out from the rest of the workers, tourists, and sight seekers but kept to the shadow underneath the tree - it would not cause any disturbance while it was in the company of the public. Besides having a few stealing glances towards it, it received very little attention outside the wondering glances and the pressed smiles that came it's way. And that's exactly how it wanted this to be.

The shadow watched as the girl and the man walked down the ramp to the lower docks, the boy and the woman watching them go before they turned around and started to walk away from the port. They only held its attention for so long before it returned it's gaze to the distant ramp that the girl and the man had walked down, keenly interested in that particular area for a few seconds.

It stood there for a moment longer before it moved out from underneath the tree and to the edge of the upper dock where it had the advantage of being able to see almost all the way down to the lower docks. The sounds of the ocean called to it and beckoned it to come back and it would once it made sure that the girl and the man were on their way from the mainland and out into the ocean.

It watched as the two stopped not far from where the ramp ended and were chatting with a dockhand and pointing to one of the boats that would - hopefully - take them out into open waters. The dockhand nodded several times and pointed to a seaworthy boat at the far end of the docks, the man nodding before beckoning the girl to follow him in that direction. The shadow watched them as far as it could until it could not make the two out from the rest of the bodies that were scurrying on the platforms like mice in a maze. It wouldn't know for sure if they would make it out to the open ocean or not but it remained firm on its belief that someone would come out of all of this.

A tingling sensation came over it, the shadow standing frozen where it was it before a soft moan came from within it. There was something tugging at its body to come back to where it should belong, a longing that only it could feel. It knew that everything now was in place for something even bigger would take place then it standing out in the open without restrictions - and those events would play out in the next week.

Or so it hoped.

Until Next Time


	3. Chapter Two: On The Open Water

Legends: Beginnings

Disclaimer: **I do not own anything that is related, remotely related, or is in the game, **_Illusion of Gaia_**. It is owned by Enix and all related companies. All Original Characters, Stories, and anything else is not in, related to, or remotely related to the game, was solely created for creative and entertainment purposes. Thank you for your time.**

Chapter Two – **On The Open Water**

The water split apart as a large boat cruised along the waves of the blue ocean, away from the civilization of the larger land masses and out into the wild blue wilderness. The day was as calm as it should be, the storms long gone before this boat had even set sail for the ocean waters, and would not be heading in the direction of the same storms that had passed so recently. Nothing, it seems, could shatter the perfect weather that shone above the water clear, unless the storm changed directions and headed backwards.

Dolphins moved along with the front of the boat, jumping slightly out of the water to allow those on the surface a glimpse of any underwater life that there may be. The dolphins eventually grew bored of their antics and swam away in search of food or other larger boats and ships to follow. The sun reflected off of the top of the water, the beams of light bouncing right back up into the heavens above with a few rays penetrating the dark water below.

There were few clouds in the sky despite the weather that had gone over the water several days before, a light wind moving along the surface of the waves and over the boat. It was a perfect day to be out even if it was a short stroll down a street or dock but the small boat was nowhere such places at the time being. Instead it was further away into the dark ocean, heading towards a destination that it taken many times before.

Katherine sat the back of the boat, her body twisted around so that her lower half face the front of the craft while the upper part watched the now faraway port town disappear behind them. She had taken her sandals from her feet almost as soon as she had gotten onto the boat, gliding over the cool surface almost with ease and smiled rather vaguely to the other passengers on the boat. Her father, Michaels, had placed her luggage at the front of the boat with the rest of the luggage of the other passengers, thinking little of it until they reached where they were going.

This was where she was meant to be, on the open ocean and going wherever the waves took her and she did not have to worry about where the currents took her. It was once said that the destination wasn't important but the journey itself was; or something like that, she couldn't remember the exact saying. Kat felt more at ease when she was around her father then her mother and brother that had been left at the dock to fend for themselves.

Even when she had her head turned away from the other passengers, as few as they were, on the boat she had to fight the urge to laugh at the disgusted look her mother wore when she had watched the dock workers and travelers go about their business. Her brother did not seem very interested in what was going on around him, instead just stared ahead at the open water without so much as a look around. He had not spent much time willingly away from what their mother called 'proper civilization', so he did appreciate the wilds beyond what he could touch.

Her parents had divorced rather bitterly when she was around the age of twelve, her being in the middle of everything while her then five year old brother hardly batted an eye to the arguments and other horrid things that went on between their parents. Her mother had kept most everything that was of value, including the house and its belongings, and that allowed her to work less and enjoy the riches that she could sell for extra money later. Over the course of the last five years there would be many other people coming in and out of their life, all rich enough to add to what her mother had collected and none stayed long enough for Kat to remember their name in any fond way.

She wondered, mostly to herself and some to her long-time friends, what life would have been life if her parents had still been together. If her brother would be sitting with her while they made way to the island chain, allowed there because of their connection to their father. In a way she was glad her parents were no longer together, at least then they wouldn't be fighting constantly and so loudly. Her mother hadn't expected Michael to have announced his plans for divorce, nor had she expected them at all. It had been a very big surprise to her and to the older of the two children as well, though it was for the best. At least Kat thought so.

"You've been quiet the last few hours," Michael said as he sat down next to his daughter as he handed her one of two cups of coffee from their belongings. Kat turned to him and took the cup, smiling as her father got comfortable next to her; she wasn't much of a coffee drinking but a cup or two never hurt. "We'll be arriving on the island soon; you'll understand what's going on what we'll be doing then. Didn't want to tell anything more on the docks, since there are a few things that can't be explained there."

"You hardly tell me much beforehand." She took a sip of the coffee, suppressing a sour expression. There was too much cream in the drink but it would do for the moment. "Afraid mother wouldn't approve?"

"I hardly think that was my reasoning. Besides, there is only so much I can tell you without showing you first." There was that odd twinkle in his eyes, the kind that told Kat that this wasn't a normal trek through the woods. "Listen, Kat. You really shouldn't give your mother a hard time, she just means well. I know the two of you don't get along, _I_ don't get along with her either, but at least try for me."

Kat looked down at her coffee. "I'd like to say I know she does but I wouldn't mean it. But I've been trying, why do you think I was able to come with you this time?" She looked back at her father. "This is my last year of high school, my last few days before I turn eighteen. Can I still come on your trips?"

"If it's what you want to do." Michael sipped his coffee and looked out into the wild blue water. "There aren't many places left that aren't unexplored. The few that are left, there's so much red tape and superstition to jump through that even _I_ am surprised there's permission to trek through these islands. But it's not like they haven't been searched before, just now with a more fine-toothed comb."

The island chain Michael had made his home for the last ten years, had allowed few others to make that claim and fewer still to move along the smaller islands. The main island, where the world was just now barely catching up, was the only place to find the basics: running water, electricity in some homes, and very little else. Under the law of the island, this was as advanced as the old elders would allow it; Kat knew little outside of a basic understanding of how the island government worked. It was part of no country she knew of so there was no worry of taking months for permits or the like to come back to them.

It also helped that Michael lived there and the island's inhabitants knew him and his daughter. Little could be said about others, although Kat figured it had more to do with how other explorers presented themselves. Smiling into her coffee, Kat found it suddenly hard to sit still. It had been a while since the last time she had been on a trek and the thought of finally going somewhere new excited her.

"So we're going to one of the islands." Kat grinned even wider, as her father had yet to reveal much about where they were going. Perhaps this was "Which one? How long? What's the name of the island? What are we looking for?"

"All of that will be explained on the island," Michael said, shifting nervously. "There are too many people on this boat."

Kat looked around them, her excitement deflating some. There were a surprising high amount of people on board, considering how long it took them to reach the main island of the chain and, given the remoteness of it and the lack of certain luxuries some people couldn't seem to live without, how little there was compared to further developed places. While visitors had welcome to the main island – the elders there, while a bit picky, always seemed to welcome, maybe even enjoy, new faces – she had not seen _this_ many persons on this boat before. It wasn't as though the main island was extremely isolated or fully off limits, given what she remembered the last time she had come to this island.

"Are they here for the trek?" She asked, watching a small group of people look over the edge of the boat. "I haven't seen this many people go to the island before."

"Not many have in the last sixty years, not since they allowed more outsiders onto the islands. You know some of the history of the natives there and of the elders, so I imagine they are feeling a bit more charitable." Michael stood up and patted his daughter on the shoulder. "We'll be docking there within the next hour and a half, so enjoy the rest of the ride."

Kat nodded, putting her cup to her lips so Michael wouldn't see her frown as he walked away to find someone on the crew or higher up to talk to. She didn't understand what he meant about the elders 'feeling charitable'; it wasn't as though the main island was barricaded from the rest of the world. The elders made sure that the islands didn't suddenly become overrun with people; so long as the peace and comfort of the island was safe then they had little to worry about. They _did_ know better than to turn what was one small slice of the wild world into yet another tourist destination.

Maybe that was why her father had picked this island as his home; it was out of the way for anyone. Out of sight, out of mind, in a tiny pocket of the world where he could generally be left alone if he so chose. Kat had a notion that maybe once she finished her last year of high school she'd be able to live there as well. Maybe take a few college courses to see what she wanted to do in a career, or even follow in her father's footsteps. Taking a sip out of her coffee to mask a budding smile, Kat thought of the possibilities she had in front of her.

XXX

The water was too calm for this time of year, or any time of the year. The water had always moved faster, swifter, around the islands and through the currents ten miles off shore, had allowed the nature of things to take their course. That was the way it had been for the last two hundred years when the main island had grown from a few dozen inhabitants, to its current population of well over three hundred. Most of them descendants from tribes all across the world, there were a few that hat no roots, no reason to know _why_ the water had grown _this_ calm.

The deeply tanned tribal council, and it's elders of generations past, knew why: something was bound to happen somewhere close by, somewhere they were afraid to step upon. Some had tried to dismiss the changes in the sea and ocean as mere chance, just as they dismissed the loss of seasonal migratory bird patterns as changes in animal behavior, less rain from the monsoon season as climate changes, and the influx of dead fish on the shores as a freak of nature. The world was changing again, some said not for the better, and ignored the hints the Earth was trying to tell them.

Even after the years of excuses ran out, after all the dismissals and lack of evidence to support unfounded claims, the elders had little choice but to accept when faced with actual _proof_ something would happen. It only took less than twenty-four hours for them to finally say something was amiss somewhere close by and that their home would need to be checked, by outsiders who would not fear the superstitions that the minor islands bore. Or of the history that the islands once held, long ago, before the land broke apart and became what it was today.

The elders knew they were treading on dangerous ground with the minor islands. Few did venture out there alone, or without consulting the Ancestors for guidance. Nor did they come to this discussion lightly, for anyone who went on this trek would be on their own for several days if not longer. Only short-ranged, modern day technology worked, if it worked at all, and the quietness of the islands would not guarantee that there were no animals around to devour their nightly meal.

There also was no guarantee of coming back once started, coming back indeed.

Until Next Time


	4. Chapter Three: Statues Of Mystery

Legends: Beginnings

Disclaimer: **I do not own anything that is related, remotely related, or is in the game, **_Illusion of Gaia_**. It is owned by Enix and all related companies. All Original Characters, Stories, and anything that is not in, related to, or remotely related to the game, was solely created for creative and entertainment purposes. Thank you for your time.**

Chapter Three – **Statues Of Mystery**

The island was faraway enough that few outsiders visited on any given month but many lived on for the entire run of their lives if they wished to get away from all of the commotion of the world. The majority of the inhabitants of the islands were descendants of tribes that once were thought to be extinct and in some instances this method of thinking was correct. By the time other outsiders had finally put this island, and its smaller island brothers and sisters in its chain, on the map, the blood of the ancient tribes had already mingled and thrived for many generations. Here inhabitants could claim a vast variety of ancient blood, from Incan to Mayan to others that had only been thought of as odd writing on tablets. Here, proofs of long, old bloodlines were more prevalent than they were anywhere else.

The people of the main island lived off the main food items that nature brought to them, from bananas and various nuts to meat and fish, along with few other things from the lands closest to the islands. There were places on the island that the elders allowed to advance past huts of wood and bark, with few electrical outlets and more of oil and lamps and brick. Few ever left the comforts of their natural home, not from fear of what lay outside of their own homes but because this was _home_. They weren't afraid of what might lurk beyond the sandy shores and lapping waters of their islands, no they were far from allowing fear to dominate their lives of the world outside of their island. There were other things that were more feared then the outside world.

They were intrigued by what went on in the lands they had only heard of from those that left so many years ago and from the few residents that held no bloodlines there. The elders allowed the talk of the outside world because they were just intrigued by the world as their brethren, although they would be the last to admit to such a thing. Words were never an issue between outsiders and the native inhabitants; since birth the inhabitants of the islands learned at least four languages and passed some of their own knowledge of language to those that would go back to their own homes far richer then they had been when they first arrived. Knowledge, the outsiders would eventually realize, was vastly more valuable than money or gold.

And, yet, most of the inhabitants did not need to leave their home in order to learn about the rest of the world that did not know of their existence until a few short years before. Why should there be a need to leave when they had Michael Porter to do the exploring for them? They welcomed him home from every trek he went on and this one was no different at all, with one minor exception.

"Welcome back to the island, young Porter," a tall, deeply tanned, bearded man said happily as he helped Katherine down from the ramp leading from the boat onto the boat dock. He looked as happy as Kat did that she was on the island again, although she was happier than he was.

The trip across the ocean had taken slightly more than the intended time Michael had originally told her, however it meant nothing to her as a whole. After Michael left her to her own devices, she had made a few short conversations with several other passengers, including a boy that was not much older than she was and now was disembarking with a scowl on his face. His parents followed him shortly after, nervous glances given to Katherine and the bearded man as they hurried towards an approaching elder who looked as though she was not as happy to see them as the boy looked to be there. Kat didn't understand why they were there, outside of a 'because of a school project' before the boy had decided to jump up and leave mid-conversation. She hardly thought coming to a remote island out in the middle of the ocean counted as a 'school project'.

"Thank you, Hector," she said just as brightly, as the bearded man kissed her hand and bowed slightly to her before turning the other disembarking passengers with a lively greeting for them as well. She laughed as she walked away, holding a bag over her shoulders before she moved off the dock in search of her father, who had gotten off of the boat well before her and was talking to a small group of people that she had not seen before. All around her the inhabitants greeted old friends, gave her hugs, and wished her well in the few languages she had learned here on the island. Oh how she missed the island and everything that went with it!

Even though her father was well away from the dock, and still quite within the edge of the island, it took her several minutes for her to walk up to him. By the time she had approached him, Michael had finished his conversation with the group of five and patted them on the back as they walked away. Grinning, Kat could only imagine that these people were going with them on whatever trek Michael had planned but did not ask him directly for information; that would eventually come out, just as the slip on the ship had. Michael attempted to ignore the smirk that went across his daughter's face by facing forwards as they walked away from the small dock, yet the smile on his own lips betrayed his nearly stony expression.

"So, are you going to tell me any more about this trek? Or are you going to slip up again?" Kat teased her father after about ten minutes of walking behind him. The island itself, although not exactly huge, still could hold it's currently population of native inhabitants and about four hundred more outsiders comfortably. With one dock for small ships, boats, and the like for people, goods, and such to go to and from the island, there was more than enough room for homes, several small markets, and several large pavilions set up in a semi-circle around the outskirts of the island. Michael's home was situated on the right side of the island, about a mile and a half away from the dock, and was one of the few places that were allowed a more 'modern' touch.

Directly in the middle of the island was where the main market was, where trades of goods and information happened by the minute; there were other smaller stalls dotted along the island. Not far from this market was the largest pavilion on the island, where the council and the elders made important announcements and held their meetings there. Kat thought they were headed towards the center of the island but when Michael made a detour to the left several minutes later, Kat's confusion only grew; weren't they going straight to Michael's wood and brick home first?

"You will see soon enough as the reason why we are going," Michael said mysteriously. The number of outsiders dropped considerably and the number of native inhabitants grew; those that they passed gave both of them odd looks. Kat didn't realize how much fear there was in those looks, even as they approached one of the smaller, open pavilions where several islands were muttering old blessings on the outskirts before leaving when they saw the two approaching. Michael put his belongings down just outside one of the eight large bamboo pillars that held the large bamboo roof up and motioned Kat to do the same. Without any words to his daughter, Michael stepped into the pavilion and stepped out of the way so Kat could see what was in the center.

Sitting in the middle of the pavilion, on the dried mud floor, was a very big and very old statue that she had not seen before. From what she could see it was of a long-haired knight, dressed in some sort of armor that looked more bent, twisted, and knotted then any kind of armor she had seen in a museum before, or on a statue. Kat stood there staring at the statue, a foot taller or so than she was, and began to move towards it to get a better glimpse at the front and face of the statue. It was old, she knew, and possibly predated anything that she had seen before that hadn't been behind glass in a museum. Even from the quick look-over she had given it, the statue looked very well preserved for the climate they were in.

"What's this?" She asked, walking to the front of the statue then stopping a foot away from it. Her eyes moved up and down the aged stone, taking in every detail of it that she could. The face of the knight was slightly worn at the edges around the chin and nose, the hair around its forehead slightly crushed; the only thing on its face that stood the test of time was the gem-like eyes. Those stared forwards in the direction it had been placed in, its hands held onto a sword's hilt with its point driven towards the earth below. She reached out to touch the statue but drew back quickly; there was a coldness that seeped from the statue, something that she didn't have to touch the statue to feel.

"That, Kat, is what we are in search of." Michael came around to the front of the statue to stand next to his daughter. "Not exactly this one but something entirely different."

"You mean like a replica of the same statue?" She asked, gesturing to the statue. "Are you saying that we're going to be looking for copies of this? Or are there others like it of the same idea?"

"As there are two other statues that make up a trio, I assure you they are not replicas of this one," a cool female voice said from behind them. Both father and daughter turned around to see a woman standing several feet behind them, her arms crossed lightly over her chest. She was not much taller than Kat herself, an inch or two could not be much of a difference, her skin slightly darker then Kat's but was sun-kissed over genetics. Her black hair was tied in a bun, her black eyes void of the smile that graced her lips, and she wore a blue shirt over a pair of black jeans and blue sandals. "This statue, as far as I know, is one of a kind."

"Kat, I would like you to meet Crystal. She will be our guide for this trek. Crystal, this is my oldest child and daughter, Katherine," Michael introduced as the two women shook hands. "Crystal, my daughter has questions that I, uh, couldn't answer. What can you tell her about this statue?"

Kat, again, resisted the urge to roll her eyes but it unlike before, it was at the tone of voice her father used. It was too formal for her tastes, the kind of tone that he used when he was talking to some wealthy investor that Michael wasn't trying to intentionally boast to. Crystal, either unaware that Michael had used his 'I Know Things You Don't' voice or thought it was cute that Kat didn't look amused at a crumbling statue, smiled and stepped forward.

"From what I've recently gathered, this statue was found on one of the islands in this chain nearly a year ago by a small group of six explorers who had permission from the council to look on this island. Yes the council actually granted permission for that," Crystal added when Kat looked surprised upon hearing that bit of information. "Sometimes the council does funny things, even as far as allowing this statue to remain here. It was brought here to be studied, however no one has done it in the year it was discovered and brought here. And I don't think they will either, since no one has touched it in almost three months."

"Why not?" Kat walked around the statue several times, looking it up and down. Her first impression was that it was still old but it came as a surprise that it had been found on the same island chain she was standing in now. The bigger surprise was that the current council, and the elder's, had allowed others to walk around the smaller islands as recent as the year prior. Why had they allowed others to do so? Suddenly this trip didn't seem so special, now that she learned they wouldn't be the first in many years to step foot on the smaller islands. "It looks like another statue in a museum."

"That may be so but there is a belief that this is one of two statues that were created by Gaia, the Earth Spirit herself. There are legends that were handed down over the course of the last several centuries, you may have heard of them being told over storytelling fires." Crystal smiled at Kat's look of disbelief. "Yes, I think you've heard of it although there are many retellings of it over the course of many years. The original legends date back to well before this island became what it was and was derived from the original language that is now even forgotten by the natives of this island. I'll refresh your memory, or at least humor you for a while longer."

It took her a matter of seconds to realize that Crystal had made an attempt to poke fun at her to see if she was listening. Kat turned to gape at Crystal, whose black eyes still did not seem to hold any humor that her face and smile radiated. Glancing at her father, Kat frowned and sighed, gesturing lightly to Crystal to continue; although she had heard stories of odd things happening from the storytellers before, there was no harm hearing it from a different source. There was always a different take from another's perspective and if Kat could get anything else out of it, it would be more information as to the exact reason they were going on this trek. Finding two more statues didn't seem like a decent cover story.

"These statues were of two beings that were either created by, or had some of the Dark Essence in them before. As you know already, it is been said that everyone has some of this Essence inside of them, it is what makes everyone who they are and defines their actions." The corners of Crystal's mouth twitched but went largely unnoticed. "This Dark Essence is stronger in some then it is in others, those that have a stronger Dark Essence were touched even more so by a comet that had come in close range of the Earth. This comet comes near the Earth every eight hundred years then recedes back into the depths of space before returning once again eight hundred years later."

"The bathing in the light of the comet changed people, sometimes not for the good," Michael continued as he leaned up against one of the bamboo poles and put his hands in his pockets. "This gave people abilities that they would not have been able to do before or changed the way they looked."

"No matter how horrible or good they were," Crystal muttered with a deep frown before shaking her head with a forced smile. "With that being said, most of the natives here believe that they shouldn't tamper with something that Gaia has created. They are still afraid of these statues, especially this one."

"Why?" To Kat, it still looked like an ordinary statue that history had decided to forget. Even so, after hearing the short version of the tale she couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong with the statue. Combined that with the coldness that emitted from nearly three inches away from the surface, the statue didn't look right at the angle Kat now was standing at. She still could not place the feeling of dread that suddenly washed over her; she shouldn't be feeling _afraid_ of a statue.

"If you notice his eyes, Kat, and look at them closely. They are special gems in which some people believe were placed in a single statue in order to make sure that he was still there." Michael took his right hand out of his pocket long enough to point at the eyes. "They are dull looking now."

"Yea, okay?" Kat shrugged. "It is an old statue, the eyes may be gems but they are clouded. What do you expect with things like this? You should know better than I do that things age with time."

"My dear child, the eyes are _supposed_ to have a glossy look to them no matter old the statue is. I'm sure that you've heard of another legend where a knight's soul was trapped inside a statue by the Dark Essence and the only way to release it was to transform and become the knight. No?" Crystal's eyes shone for the first time in the last twenty minutes they had spoken, in delight at Kat's shaking head. "It is a fairly long tale that you must hear one day but I'm afraid that right now is not the best time to do a long winded storytelling. The general idea was that the knight could be free until the bearer of the previous soul wanted to get rid of it. It was like an exchange of goods, if you will. The one that had the soul of the knight in him or her became the knight, while the person's soul was trapped in the statue."

"So someone is walking around as this knight? And their soul, or whatever, is trapped within in this statue?" Kat looked between the two of them, doubtful of what she was being told. To her it felt as though she was listening to a campfire story, an old tale to scare children into doing what they were told.

"Or he was released on purpose without anyone knowing he was released. It has happened, I'm sure, but there is no proof it ever happened," Crystal said. "The big problem is, all of the explorer's on the previous trek came back in their original form and showed no signs of ever being switched. In order for the knight to take over the body of a person, the donor must have an extremely high amount of Dark Essence in them in order to sustain the knight. There are very few people who are and were alive with enough Dark Essence in them, or forced in them, to do such a thing." Walking next to Kat, Crystal looked at the statue in a way that resembled a lost child looking for their parents. "Do you know the mystery surrounding the Red Star that had been in the constellation of Cygnus about two thousand or so years ago?"

"I know very little about it," she admitted, turning her attention to the older woman. "What little I know of it came from a World History class I took a couple of years ago. It had been briefly mentioned and not brought up again."

"It is said that there was a boy who had immense Dark Essence in him and had abilities not seen since. He used two statues in order to save the Earth from the comet and had survived for several generations before reappearing again. He had no memory of what had happened nor any signs that he was, in fact, that boy who had saved the Earth." Crystal, like Kat had, put a hand close to the statue but did not touch it. If she felt the coldness emitting from it or not, Kat didn't know nor did she express any such feeling from the statue. When she put her arm back down, Crystal continued speaking again. "The last record of his known whereabouts were about fifty years ago, right when the comet was scheduled to come back."

"Wasn't the comet destroyed?" Kat blinked. "If it's like any other comets shouldn't it have eventually collided with something else in space?"

"Yes it was written that way but not all of history can be truth now can it? Take Columbus for example, he wasn't exactly the first person to 'find' the New World now was he?" Crystal smiled knowingly then that smile disappeared. "Problem is, it disappeared and the boy who saved the world is gone away. The eyes of that statue are dull, which indicates that the knight has taken over his body or has managed to be able to fuse with his soul in order to sustain his body indefinitely."

"So what does this have to do with our trek? Are we going to do a search and rescue?" Kat asked, looking over at her father for that answer.

"We have to find the other statue that Gaia created to make sure that it is okay and the one of the boy if his body has been taken over," Michael said, pushing himself away from the pole. "Our job is just to _find_ the statues under the guise of making sure that they intact, what the tribal council and the elders do with them afterwards is up to them. It will be tricky, it will be dangerous, and it will be something you will _not_ be giving your mother all the details to."

"I like the sound of this trek already." Kat grinned just thinking of what would be said if she divulged what she was doing to anyone else but a few friends. Michael gave his daughter a stern look not to give a potentially dangerous trek so much enthusiasm.

"Do not get so excited about this, we will be going into a place where the council has given very few people the rare chance to go into the smaller islands." Crystal looked between the two of them as she stepped back. "As much as I have enjoyed this talk, I must be going now. Michael, Katherine. I will see you both in due time for the beginning of this expedition."

With that Crystal turned around and walked past Kat and the statue. Within a minute she had disappeared into passing native inhabitants and by the time Michael and Kat had gathered their belongings and joined the inhabitants, there was no sign of her. Kat wanted to question her father about Crystal, if she was a capable guide, and how much credentials she had but those were questions not suited for the moment. When they had doubled back to where they had disembarked the boat, it was long gone yet there were others there looking at maps, gathering their own supplies, and generally looking as though they would be a part of a long trek.

"I'm guessing that they're going with us?" Kat asked as they approached Michael's home. Her father glanced over his shoulder at the group of outsiders they passed, turning his head back around with a light smile. "I think I saw a couple of people we've gone on trek's with before."

"Yes, they are going with us and you're correct, some of them have been with us before. There will be plenty more people going with us this time, just because it is the other islands," Michael told her. "We've had enough trouble getting the council to allow another trek into this particular island much less allowing more than a small handful of people going."

"So what's…" Kat started before Michael raised a hand to quiet his daughter. By then they had reached the steps of Michael's home and while they were further away from most of the inhabitants and outsiders of the island, there were still ears and eyes to hear and watch them with.

"We'll talk about the trip later tonight; we've need to rest after a long day on the water. Besides," her father smiled broadly as he walked up the steps to his home and began to fiddle with the latches and hooks of the door, "there's some books you'll be interested in reading. Think of it as an early birthday present."

Kat returned the smile as she followed Michael into his home, fully understanding that not only was this a quick diversion to quiet her about the trek but also a half-truth: she _was_ tired, more then she had realized. Maybe reading a couple of books by a fire would recharge her energy to ask questions later.

Until Next Time


	5. Chapter Four: Confirmation

Legends: Beginnings

Disclaimer: **I do not own anything that is related, remotely related, or is in the game, **_Illusion of Gaia_**. It is owned by Enix and all related companies. All Original Characters, Stories, and anything that is not in, related to, or remotely related to the game, was solely created for creative and entertainment purposes. Thank you for your time.**

Chapter Four – **Confirmation**

"So are we really getting these statues or is it just a cover story to go the other islands?" Kat asked as she sat in a large, overstuffed chair with an open book in her lap. Night had long since fallen upon the island, the sounds of the environment changing from the low mutterings of the inhabitants and outsiders to chirping and singing of the nightlife. From where her father's home sat, despite it being situated more inland then by the water's edge, she could still faintly hear the lapping of the water against the shore.

The home wasn't big or even remotely simple in terms of what the natives called 'simple' and 'big'. It had three bedrooms, one for Michael, one for Kat, and one that acted as an office/storage area for when Michael needed to work on archiving all of his recent and past treks. The kitchen was small since there was no need for elaborate meals, as it typically was Michael who used it, and it flowed nicely into the living area where both father and daughter were comfortably resting. There was a couch, two stuffed chairs, and a small table with four chairs situated around the oval table; there were various other items in the room, including a small bookcase, lamps, and candles throughout the room. Despite the house being one of the few places on the island that had electricity, the most advanced items in the house was Michael's computer, the lamps, and an old radio from a yard sale.

It hadn't taken Kat long to adjust to her new surroundings. As soon as she had entered her room she had found the stack of five books laying on her bed; most of her time spent in the room was getting undressed and into something more comfortable for island weather. There was little need to put most of the things in her bag away, as they would only need to be transferred from one bag to another for the journey they would be making soon. Kat wasted no time in jumping onto her bed and opening one of the books, her father finding her in the same position two hours later when it was time for a quick meal of sandwiches and berries. Kat had to tear herself away from the book so that she could eat, Michael laughing at her when she was squirming to get back to her reading. It had been easier for her to just bring the book into the living area instead of reading in her bedroom, so that Michael could point out some interesting facts about the book and two others of the same subject.

Michael had spent the first hour of their return within the confines of his office, quiet and not saying much to his daughter. He had walked by Kat's bedroom numerous times in the second hour, partly to make sure she hadn't wandered off into the island as she had done before. Even after their meal and their casual conversations about books and different ideas, he moved and talked in a manner that seemed to indicate something was wrong. Kat did not think this was odd at first, having seen her father be nervous before a trek into a territory that he hadn't been in before; now as she sat there with the book in her lap and wasn't as engrossed in it as she had been before, she could look at her father more closely.

Sitting on the couch opposite the chairs, Michael had a book open in his hand that he had been comparing Kat's book to. When he had looked up from reading it to look at her when she had asked her question, she saw the lines of worry that creased around his eyes. He didn't seem the type to overly fret over treks, even if he did worry about the ones he had not done before, but his mannerism didn't seem quite _right_. He had been awfully quiet when they were with Crystal earlier despite his few inputs; before he had always been eager to share any knowledge he had with others, especially his daughter and with things that they made or may not need to know. Today, however, he had skirted over telling Kat much of anything about the trek they were going on when he typically gave as much detail as he could.

What had he been so worked up over that Kat had gotten information from another source entirely? She wasn't so sure that Crystal had been so truthfully as Kat would have liked and her father didn't seem too much more eager to share either; being in this relatively out of the way home, perhaps Kat could get more out of her father then she had at the statue's pavilion and on the boat.

"What Crystal and I told you earlier is true: we will be going to one of the smaller islands to retrieve a statue, maybe two. It's really not a council order to bring them back, just to make sure that they _are_ okay," Michael said after several minutes of silence. He had to choose his words carefully, for while he knew more than Kat did not everyone in the group going on the trek needed to know as much as he did. "If we bring them back then the council and elders will go from there."

"But didn't Crystal say that no one had touched the statue in _months_?" Kat asked. "If no one has bothered to even study them, why bring them back at all? Or check for that matter, if everyone is scared to go to any of the other islands."

"In all honesty Kat, even _I_ don't want to go on this trek." Closing the book and laying it down on the couch next to him, Michael rubbed his forehead. "Yes no one has even attempted to see if this statue was as it is claimed to be, but you of all people should know how much blood of the old civilizations are still in the native people here."

Kat knew of how many different tribes that had come together on this island, many of which could be traced to civilizations that had died out many hundreds of years ago. There were still superstitions surrounding old artifacts, it didn't register until now that perhaps they were about to tread on one such superstition of how the rest of the island chain was still inhabited. She shuddered at the thought of finding other native inhabitants on the other islands that were just as old and had merged with other tribes as the natives on the main island had. Perhaps that was why her father was nervous on going.

"But we'll be looking for ancient statues that no one else has seen in generations, going to a place were few are allowed to go," Kat tried to reason with him. "We'll be…."

"Kat, listen to me," Michael started, leaning forwards with a serious expression. "This isn't like the other treks we have been on, far from it. We will be going onto an island where only the basics of technology work, if that much. We will be out of touch with the rest of the world for the better part of the trek. I also don't want you to take these statues lightly; there _are_ some facts in ancient beliefs and legends."

"What are you talking about? What do you mean we'll be out of touch with the rest of the world?" Kat blinked, confused. "I thought the elders allowed some advancement in modern technology to come here."

"That's not it. From what I've recently learned, the explorers who went on this island before said the better part of their equipment didn't work. Their compasses worked fine and some of their short-ranged trackers worked, but outside of that little to nothing else did." Michael grimaced. "They were lucky in a sense that the charter boat captain had the decency to remember the time frame they were coming back in; otherwise we would not be sitting here talking about statues and the rest of the island chain right now."

"I thought you had given me all of the information about these islands and their history," Kat said quietly, leaning back into the chair looking lost. In truth she was beginning to worry just as much as her father looked worried, as she rarely used things that were considered 'old fashioned' like the compass or star gazing. That was one of the first things she had been told to be careful on, was that even though technology had advanced enough to allow an easier time to explore uncharted wilds, there _were_ places where even the simplest of tools would not work.

"At the time I did. This is only something I've learned since the last time you've been here. I don't like keeping these sorts of things to myself, especially if it means keeping you safer." Michael, again, rubbed his forehead as he leaned back into the couch. "There are other ways we'll be able to stay connected so that we won't be too helpless out there."

"Good." Kat glanced down at the book in her lap. "What else is on the island other than these two statues?"

"There might be some other things there, I don't know. There have been things found here that were found in other parts of the world, links to old civilizations long since gone." Michael gestured to several artifacts he had hanging on the walls. Some of those artifacts, from Mayan to Chinese, were replicas but not all were; Kat smiled at one mask in particular, a mask that she had found on one of their previous treks. "But there is only so much linking to one culture before it branches out again in another direction."

"Didn't you say that these islands were once connected with another land mass?" She asked. "I remember you telling me that much."

"That I did. At one point many of the smaller islands were, in fact, connected," Michael agreed. "That is a theory as to why there are so many cultures and old blood mingled here. The lands were connected in different parts at different times, when the Earth as we know it was taking shape. Humans then didn't look as they did now, some not in the form we know of."

"It seems like every time I come here, I learn something more about this island and the rest of the chain." Kat was now getting somewhere with her father, now that he was looking more relaxed and less worried about where they were about to go. "So tell me more about the statues and the islands. I'd really like to know."

"I know what you're trying to do; it's worked up until now." The old smile Michael used to give to her was back, the same twinkle in his eyes that told her she asking too many questions. "You've had a long day and have already absorbed too much information already about this trek. I think it's time to start getting ready for bed."

"But…" Kat started to protest but was cut off by Michael.

"No 'but's', Kat," he said, standing up with his book in his hands. "Whatever else you need to know you'll get later. Right now you and I _need_ rest."

Kat opened her mouth again to protest more but didn't get a word out as her father walked to his bedroom without another word. She sat on the chair for a few minutes more, sulking before she too closed her book and headed for her room. There was a nagging feeling that something else that didn't seem to add up, something that didn't seem right about what she was told and the trek itself. Something that her father wasn't telling her when he had before on previous excursions out made sure that everyone knew what they were getting into.

There was one question on Kat's mind as she settled into her bed an hour and a half later: if the elders and council were so afraid of the smaller islands and of these statues, why were they allowing others to trek upon them to _find_ the statues?

XXX

With the exception of the few nocturnal animals and the calling of the ocean, the island had grown and nearly still. There were only a few that stirred this late in the evening when all else was asleep or about to turn in for the night. What few _were_ up, were awake to finish making sure that their nets, supplies, and tools were ready for the next day's chores. Late nights such as this were common, especially with the way the ocean was becoming and the signs of change that were becoming more apparent than ever before. The movements of the few nocturnal animals, their calling out into the wild, and the last of the inhabitants going into their homes happened every night before the moon reached its peak.

Unlike the other nights, there was a difference this time. A shadow crossed the full moon, clouds covering it up as the island went strangely quiet and calm. In the openness of the island, a dark figure moved lightly across the dirt and sand; there was no sound from the footsteps, no rustling of fabric from the clothes, or of the breathing. There was no sound as it moved towards the pavilion where the knight's statue stood, eerily staring out into the distance in silence.

The shadowy figure stopped in front of the statue and stared at it, drawing out a hand as it touched the statue's face. The stone _was_ cold, hard, and worn from the ages it had seen come and go with the tide of the ocean. The shadow did not take its hand away from the statue but rather moved it downwards as it went into a kneeling position at the base of the statue. There the hand moved across the base where the statue's feet stood upon, a small platform that allowed the statue to rise off of the ground. The figure moved its hands along the base, the fingers moving along the worn stone as though there was something there, something that no one else could see.

A smile came upon the lips of the shadow as it withdrew its hand and stood up, taking a step back to look at the statue one last time before turning around and walking away. It had found a part of what it had been searching for and soon, so very soon, it would find the rest of it.

Until Next Time


	6. Chapter Five: It Begins

Legends: Beginnings

Disclaimer: **I do not own anything that is related, remotely related, or is in the game, **_Illusion of Gaia_**. It is owned by Enix and all related companies. All Original Characters, Stories, and anything that is not in, related to, or remotely related to the game, was solely created for creative and entertainment purposes. Thank you for your time.**

Chapter Five **– It Begins**

Kat zipped up the green bag that sat on the floor in front of her, her eyes looking around the small bedroom several times to make sure she was not leaving anything of important behind. Her bedroom wasn't small compared to bedrooms on the rest of the island but it was still a far cry from the bedroom in her mother's apartment. Her bed sat underneath a window that faced the eastern shore of the island, a nightstand with a lamp sitting upon it sat next to the headboard. A long, four drawer dresser with a square mirror attached sat opposite the bed, five books sitting on top of the dresser; there were few things strewn about that she had no time to put away. A few old pictures hung on the walls, mostly of her father and herself but there were a few of her friends back home and here on the island.

She sat on the bamboo-woven rug for a while, just to take in that in less than two hours she, her father, Crystal, and others would be heading out on the three week long trip. It would take them just shy of two and a half hours to reach the island that they were going to, if that long; the weather that day was perfect for going out on a short boat ride to the smaller islands. Gathering from the weather report on her father's old radio, and from the natives on the island who seemed to be more reliable than any weatherman, the weather would hold until the week was out before a rain would go over the islands for a couple of days. It was not the weather that made Kat hesitate in standing up and walking out of the room, it was a feeling she had not been able to shake off since the day she and her father had arrived on the island.

Crystal had briskly come to Michael's home the morning before to give him last minute instructions about where they were going; she had ignored Kat for the better part of the half hour stay. It was only when Kat attempted to ask more questions did Crystal acknowledge the younger woman's presence; the warmth and energy from Crystal had vanished and she had become just as distant as her eyes looked. There were short, curt answers followed by a brief 'goodbye' and a slam of the door when Crystal left; Michael had not been a good mood after Crystal's short stay in the house and the instructions he had been given. That had started Kat's nerves all over again, the feeling of dread coming from the bottom of her stomach and started to rise from there.

Not long after Crystal's short stay, the two had gone into the village for several hours to get anything they might have needed and to settle any rumors with the members of the expedition team. Kat had spent some of that time trying to get to know several of the others, particularly to see who would be the best fit to stick around other than her father. There weren't many that stuck out in her mind; the few that she talked to didn't seem very keen on getting to know her like she did them. After almost an hour of failed attempts of trying to get to know people, Kat motioned to her father that she would be elsewhere and walked off towards the rest of the island. It was there that she did not have to prove herself.

She had found herself in front of the statue again, as well as several of the island children who came to inspect it at a distance. When they saw Kat approaching they got out of the way and told her the statue was the same as it had been several days ago: the gem eyes were still vacant and that it was still in the same condition it had been left in the last time Kat had been near it. She ignored them as she knew it hadn't changed; she had just wanted to look it over again without anyone bothering her. The children had left when Kat had started to touch the statue, apparently afraid of what would happen if someone were to lay even a hair on it. It was only when she knelt down by the base of the statue did she notice that there were words chiseled onto it. It hadn't been there when she had first seen it and Kat wondered if the children had lied to her about nothing changing about the statue.

The words were in a language she couldn't understand; when she met up with her father at the boat dock forty-five minutes later Kat had every intention of asking him about it. As soon as she had seen the look on Michael's face, the look that told her to not speak nor do anything to upset him further, Kat decided to hold off on asking. Apparently several members of the expedition had already 'jumped island', taking the easy route out and having already left on the last boat that morning prior to the boat arriving for the trek the next day. Two of the members had been on the previous trek to the smaller islands and had convinces five others to leave with them, something that even upset Kat the more she had thought over it the course of dinner that night.

But statues, deserting expedition members, and any over packing she might do for this trip paled in comparison to how Michael had been acting since the day they arrived on the island. Outside of their conversation the night of their arrival, and a few odd words between them since, Michael had barely spoken directly to her. He had retreated into his study quite often, not leaving until it was meal time or someone was visiting for a brief amount of time; Crystal's visit and the deserting members made him in a less then talkative mood. Even on the morning of the trek Michael did not seem to want to spare more than a few short, snappy words to hurry up; Kat had almost forgotten to ask him about the statue along the way to meet up with what was left of the expedition team. It was too late to drag him over to it now.

"Kat, it's time to go," Michael said from the other side of the closed bedroom door. "Some of the team is already here to help carry our things."

Looking around the room one last time, she picked up her bag and swung it over her shoulder. She then picked up the three other bags she was taking with her, slowly walking towards the door and taking in several deep breaths to calm herself. As many times as she had been on trips such as this, it was easy to forget how much essential stuff she had to pack for those 'just in case' moments; a pair of extra socks or an extra roll of rope could mean a world of difference. That had been drilled into her from a young age and she often used it outside of the treks.

"Coming," she said hurriedly as she walked towards the door and opened it. When she did she met her father there and she had to take a step back to look at him properly.

His brown eyes, typically wide, alert, and full of life, looked sullen and tired as though he had not gotten any sleep the night before. Kat nearly dropped her bags at the sight of her father's very pale face, her eyes moving over his trekking clothing he was wearing. It was stained with something that resembled dirt but she could be mistaking dirt for dried blood; this was just as unusual because he, like her, kept their trek clothing as clean as possible. His hair was the only thing that was neat, combed over just as he liked it to be; his hair seemed to be the only _normal_ thing about him. However odd her father's appearance was to her, she had to factor in that just maybe this was one of those treks where neatness mattered not.

"Are you okay? What happened to your clothes?" She blurted out before Michael could tell her to hurry up again.

"I'm fine, Kat, there's nothing to worry about. If I weren't, I would have had myself checked by the village shaman." Michael's voice was strained, tired even, as he pulled his shirt forwards and looked down at it. "These clothes are suitable for where we are going, they are just mildly dirty. Even if they weren't, they still would be suitable."

"If you say so," Kat mumbled, adjusting the strap on her shoulder before walking past her father without any more questions. She knew that she should get the village shaman involved but that would only complicate matters more and they only had a short time before the boat to the island would leave. The last thing they needed, were two less people going on a trek to who knows what would lead them to.

"You have everything, correct?" Michael asked as he followed his daughter towards the front door of his house.

"Everything that you and Crystal told me to bring, yes," Kat answered, walking to the open doorway that would lead them out into the front of the house. The name 'Crystal' struck another nervous tone in her body, her stomach feeling more upset then it had before she had left her room. For some reason she did not seem to understand why she was not liking the woman, a far cry from the neutral feeling she had when they had briefly spoke the first day Kat had come upon the island. When she, her father, and the rest of the group got onto the boat, she would ask the others if they had an opinion of her and how her guiding skills leveled with her father.

Once she was outside Kat was greeted by a swarm of hellos and waves as if she was a long-lost relative coming home from the outskirts of life. Kat looked over the group of people before her; they had gathered here, upon Crystal's request, instead of at the dock where the boat was already at. It was easier to meet here, as they wouldn't crowd the dock and be in the villagers way; there were about twenty to twenty-five people in total left, excluding herself, Michael, and Crystal. Most of the group had already put their belongings on the boat as they, like Michael, had a home on this island. The others, the majority of whom she had not seen before, still had their things with them.

Kat walked down the stairs from the porch, greeting each one of them like she had not seen before regardless if she had or not. Some people she had not seen in years while others she had remembered from the previous summer when she and her father had gone on a short and simple trek to a jungle they had been to before. The others she did not recognize, which she did not hesitate to greet them and introduce herself. Michael, after closing and locking up the house and descended the stairs, emulated his daughter's movements; when she had talked to the last person in the group, she looked at her father more closely in the sunlight. Despite her earlier assessment that her father looked pale, out in the open that paleness appeared to have been a trick of the house light. Michael did not appear to be pale; perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her.

"Are you ready Kat?" A cool voice asked from behind her. Kat jumped and spun around, only to find Crystal standing behind her. She wore a pair of brown pants, a white shirt, and a pair of dark brown, knee-high boots as she stood not far from where Kat was standing. Her long black hair was neatly braided and placed in a bun on the back of her head where it was held tight by a finely woven, thin, white net. Crystal's pupil-less eyes were watching her, a snake-like smile on her lips as she clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention before she put her arms at her side.

"This is going to be the hardest expedition you will ever embark on," Crystal said above the last of the voices, her voice stronger than it had been the last time they had met. Crystal moved her expressionless gaze on the group she was going to be commanding, her eyes resting upon Michael who had come up behind Kat and put a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes flickered back to the girl that was standing in front of her for a moment before she continued on. "As you may know from the different letters and memos that have been sent to you in the past few months, we are going to be heading to one of the smaller islands in this chain for the next several weeks. I did not give a lot of details about this expedition outside the fact that this island is called 'Kara's Keep', there is a deep history about it, and what you need to bring with you. The less that was in letters, the less other people would see. You all are here because you are the best in your fields of choice.

"We are headed there to look for two remaining statues that make up the set of statues, one of which is located on the other side of the island. As I made myself clear to everyone here, you should have looked at this statue by now to give an idea of what we may be looking for." Crystal's eyes looked over the group gathered once again. "There will be a statue of a boy, a young boy perhaps no older then Kat here. I do hope we find it on this expedition. If we do please do not answer any questions that the spirit of the statue might ask you. The best way to keep it from asking you questions is to not to look at the eyes directly but rather from its nose on down. I do suggest caution with this statue."

"What about the other statue?" Someone from the back asked. "Are we going to find that one as well?"

"Yes, of course we are," Crystal said coldly, her eyes looking around for the person who spoke up. "That one you do not have to worry about having to be asked any questions. That statue has been inactive for several centuries since the great battle between the comet and the fabled boy. There is no reason to fear it. It is only the boy's statue that you have to fear at this time." She looked around the group several times over. "Any more questions?"

"How are we going to get the statues back here in one piece? Is everyone going to be looking for both of them at the same time?" One of the group members Kat had not seen before spoke up. "I heard that it took a lot for the knight's statue to get here on this island."

"That is why we have so much more people coming on _this_ expedition, Del. Because there are two statues, one part of this team will be looking for the boy's statue, the other part will be looking for the second statue. Whoever decides to look for the other statue with the most experience will be the guide for the boy's statue as I will be heading up the team for the other statue," Crystal answered before anyone else could ask the question. Her eyes moved to the person she called Del for a second in case he was about to ask another question. "You all will have the boat excursion to decide which statue you wish to go after."

"What does this 'other' statue look like?" Kat asked, her nervousness about the trek nearly disappearing. Michael gripped her shoulder a bit harder, as though he knew which part of the trek she would be going on. It didn't matter to her, as whatever team Crystal _wasn't_ on would be her one and only choice; had she known this information prior, she would not have been so frightful of the trip as a whole.

"The statue I cannot fully describe as I have not seen it before nor are there any complete descriptions of it. The boy should be obvious to you if you decide to help me go after it," Crystal said with a slight movement in the muscles around her mouth. She clapped her hands to get everyone's attention even though she had already done so. "If that is the end of the questions then -"

"One last question before we go," Kat spoke up. Crystal stared at her like she was jumping up and down like a little child, a frown finally forming on her mouth. "I went to see the statue the other day when I was in the village. On the base of the statue there was an engraving of some sort but I couldn't read it or make all of it since it looked worn some. The words were in some language that I don't recognize and the translation looks as though it has been sand down by some force."

"Your question being _what_ or is this some information you _think_ will help us?" From the tone in the woman's voice, Kat thought for a brief second that she was beginning to become impatient with Kat. Michael's hand left her shoulder, as he crossed his arms over his chest; Kat looked up at him to see Michael's annoyed expression. That look told her that he did not approve of hearing something she should have told him sooner rather than in front of a bunch of people that she may or may not be teaming up with.

"I was wondering if the words on the statue were a set of directions to find the other two statues or some sort of history that the knight might have left behind," she started when she looked back at Crystal. "It could be helpful to us, so why not have someone read it if that person knows the language?"

A low murmur went along the group, some looking at each other with alarmed looks while others just shook at her. Kat ignored them, her gaze fixed solely on the woman in front of her. Crystal now looked furious at this question, her lips parting as she bared her teeth at Kat; if she was an animal, she might have hissed in frustration. Instead she closed her dark eyes for several seconds then opened them again, taking in deep breaths to calm herself. Regardless of the attempted calming, she still looked beyond livid at the mere question asked.

"Considering I have not, nor has anyone else, seen any words, markings, or other such things engraved upon any part of the knight's statue, I am not going to answer your question. Nor would I have any information that _could_ answer it, if I had seen it. Don't you think that, if someone _had_ noticed, there would be people attempting to translate it so we could use it for _this_ expedition?" Crystal snapped. She did not wait for answer, instead turning her eyes back towards the team. "If there aren't any _intelligent_ questions to be asked, then we will be going on this journey. You have forty-five minutes to finish gathering whatever supplies, belongings, or other such things and head to the boat."

It took several minutes for the group to do as they were commanded with Crystal, Michael, and Kat lingering behind as the rest went either to the boat or to make sure they were not forgetting anything. The most trusted people in the group took the rest of Michael and Kat's belongings, with the exception of her shoulder bag, and went on ahead to the boat. Father and daughter usually hung back to make sure that there was nothing left to pick up and that no one was about to back out of the trek. Crystal had stepped away from the two to order several of the group to other places, Kat taking this opportunity to turn to her father and extend her hand for the house keys, of which he placed into her hand willingly.

"Take care of them. It's already locked and closed," he said her slowly before he glanced up at Crystal and pulled his daughter further away from her and lowered his voice. "Anything you don't want someone to see is hidden in your usual hiding spot? Anything that might pertain to other expeditions that _she_ might find interesting?"

The first question wasn't out of the ordinary, since he always made sure that certain things were hidden away. There was a space underneath her bed that went down into the ground and hidden by the floor boards in the room; she could open and close these boards as she wished. It ran the length and the width of the bed, going about three feet down into the solid earth where Kat kept anything from the previous expeditions that her father allowed her to keep. They had no face value to them but were reminders of the past and of the times spent with her father. But why would Crystal, of all people, find value in old clay jars?

"Why do you ask? What is going on with her?" She asked in the same low voice, putting the house keys into her bag.

"I feel like I have been in a daze since I came to this island, ever since I found out that she was to be the head guide for this trek." Michael glanced up to make sure Crystal still had no interest in the two of them. She didn't, although her interest would perk up once she was done with the remaining members of the group. "I have not heard of Crystal before, even though the native villagers claimed she appeared on this island three years ago and has come and gone since then. I haven't seen her on the island before! The expedition to the island where the knight's statue was located on? Although the council doesn't outright say it, I wouldn't be surprised that she had a hand in getting them to have a trek to the islands. She wants something off the smaller islands, something to do with 'artifacts', something that even the elders think she should find and get."

"And those 'artifacts' being the statues." She didn't need much to go on from her father that Crystal wanted these statues something bad, but why she wanted the statues was another mystery into itself. Now she had the 'who' that had gotten the tribal council and the elders to allow a team of people to go to a small island, and an small but incomplete idea as to the 'why'.

"Is everything okay up there? Do you need help locating something?" Crystal called from where she was standing. Kat turned around to see that Crystal had come forwards some and was now standing closer then Kat wanted her to; the older woman was expressionless once again, a far cry then she had been only minutes ago. "If it is, then I'll head to the dock."

"No, everything is fine. We were just making sure that Kat didn't forget to pack the house keys," Michael called back to her. Crystal nodded curtly, turning around as she headed away from the house. He patted his daughter's shoulder and sighed, Kat looking up at him. "It seems like every time I look into her eyes every thought in my mind goes away and something else goes into it. There have been several instances in the last two days that I can't remember what I had done or where I had gone. Just this morning I remember being in my bathroom, two hours later I'm in front of your bedroom door, telling you to hurry up."

"I _knew_ something was up with her if she is trying to brainwash you," Kat said, her eyes darting over towards the retreating form of Crystal as it disappeared behind the native foliage. "She is probably attempting to get you to do something to the village or something else."

"If she is, she's doing a horrible job at it. Other than short periods of not knowing what I've been doing, other than acting a little strange, I haven't done anything to harm anyone here." Michael took in a deep breath. "It just feels like, if I am standing at a point and talking to someone, I don't recall ninety percent of the conversation or who I was talking to if I try to think about it later." He trailed off for a moment, and then looked down at his daughter. "Maybe we'll learn more about her on this trek, maybe we won't. I have a few eyes and ears on this island that will tell me anything when we get back. For now, we will look for the statues. Since your birthday will pass when we're on this trek, I'll give you your birthday present while we're there."

Kat didn't say anything else as she followed her father in the same direction Crystal had taken, her spirits somewhat lifted at the mention of her birthday present. Somehow trying to find more about Crystal didn't sit well with her, something that even her father admitted was wrong. Whatever it was, whatever happened on this trip, she had to trust Michael's judgment on going on this expedition. If she couldn't trust her own _father_, no matter what state his mind was in, who could she trust?

Until Next Time


	7. Chapter Six: Kara's Keep

Legends: Beginnings

Disclaimer: **I do not own anything that is related, remotely related, or is in the game, **_Illusion of Gaia_**. It is owned by Enix and all related companies. All Original Characters, Stories, and anything else that is not in, related to, or remotely related to the game, was solely created for creative and entertainment purposes. Thank you for your time.**

Chapter Six – **Kara's Keep**

The ride to the island was uneventful to say the least, Michael and Katherine sitting together at the very back of what was probably considered a 'boat' but was more like a 'ship' to the natives. It was not a big boat in Kat's eyes but it was more than enough to hold more than forty people, their bags, and still have enough room for them to move about. From what Michael had told her earlier, and from the little experience Kat had with her, she wouldn't be surprise of how Crystal managed to get such a boat for such a small trip. It didn't matter how it was gotten, so long as they didn't run afoul of anything that could damage precious wildlife.

Many members of the group were shifting uncomfortably in their chairs or on their perches on the edges of the first floor of the boat, often looking longingly at the other islands they were passing. They might have been having second thoughts about coming on this trek now that they were halfway from the island known as Kara's Keep but now they could not just walk away from the trek. None, however, had the courage to jump into the water and swim back to one of the shores that the boat was careful to stay as far away as it could be. There were more than just piranhas in these parts of the world that lurked in the water.

There were some low talk about the team being spilt up during the course of the trip; Crystal had spoken true about that before they had left the island. Some would be staying with Crystal to find the other statue; others would be going in search of the boy's statue. In the short time she had been on the boat, she had heard numerous things about Crystal: she wasn't human, she had originally wanted to get both statues at once but abandoned one in lieu of the other, and she practiced some sort of secret techniques in her spare time. Things that made Kat even more determined to not be on the same team as Crystal; when she tried to speak to her father about her worries, he ignored her and had decided to talk over her.

It was then that Kat made her final decision and realization: while her father would most likely go with Crystal, she would _not_ follow him if he should go with Crystal. If he was going with the one that made her more nervous than the trek was making her, then she was not going to be going with that group. Instead she would move along with those that felt the same way as she did.

"How much further do we have to go until we reach the island? It seems like we should have been there by now," Kat asked the person next to her instead of her father. This man she remembered Crystal calling 'Del'. He was a small man, not more than the age of thirty, with jet black hair and piercing black eyes. He wore a green shirt and a pair of jeans over his dark skin, a pair of high quality hiking boots with steel toes; on his lap sat a wide brimmed hat and a small canteen with what Kat assumed, and hoped, was water.

"I figure we have 'bout another half hour to an hour until we reach the island." Del stopped short as he looked at her. "I'm Del, just Del. And you?"

"Katherine Porter, Kat for short," she answered, shaking his outstretched hand and returning the smile she was given. Del looked between her and Michael several times, a slow realization that both of them were related. "He's my father."

"Ah, I can see the resemblance between the two of you more closely now. I have heard of your father from others who have worked with him before, I am glad that you are following your father's footsteps," Del said with a nod. Kat knew he was saying that in all honestly and beamed at the compliment.

"How did you get involved with treks and this expedition?" She asked, hoping to get a new friend in Del.

"I'm fond of the islands, from the Bahamas to Hawai'i, ever since I was a child growing up in the Carolinas. Had never been out of the States until 'bout six years ago when I met Chuck Cougar over there." Del nodded up a few rows of people to a tanned man with bleached blonde hair and stunning green eyes. He was telling several jokes to the other team members, receiving fits of laughter from the small group of people standing around him. "We went to college for a couple of years until we had an opportunity to put our skills to the test."

"What kind of skills?" She inquired, now very much interested. If she could find someone that she could learn from other then her father, it would be a big bonus for her not only on this trek but in the future as well.

"I went to several colleges, mostly for archeological and historical classes but also for some creative writing. I'm not great at _finding_ things but I could attempt at it if I had to, that's more of Chuck's field then mine. My skills more or less lie in knowing which part of history certain artifacts came from, what they were, and to tell what they were used for." Del smiled even brighter when he saw the look of excited interest on Kat's face. "I am not going to sit here and tell you that I am perfect at what I do or nor will I ever be. I've been known to be mistaken several times in the past, so has Chuck. It is just a matter of knowing what you are doing and making sure you don't make too many mistakes that could damage thousand year old clay pots." He gave a short laugh. "I got the 'invite' about six months ago, Chuck a week later. I guess we impressed _somebody_ to fund our way here."

Kat fought down the urge to ask if he thought Crystal may have had a hand in it but kept that question to herself. "Why did you accept the invite?"

"For the adventure mostly since my Achilles heel is adventure." Kat giggled when Del grinned widely at his joke. "But also because Chuck and I hadn't been to the main island before and figured it was a good opportunity to go to a place where we typically don't go to. I guess curiosity got the better of us. It wasn't exactly an _invite_ but more of a letter stating little what was going on and what to expect on the expedition. But we also have other reasons why we are going on this trip."

She glanced up at the second level just as Del did, looking up at the smaller deck above. There were two levels of the boat, the second level being the shortest and smallest of both; the second level was the small crew cabin where the captain of the boat and the controls were at. The back of the upper deck allowed passengers to sit and look at the islands passing them by; there was a ladder not far from where the front of the upper deck started. Crystal was moving up on the second level, several times she moved to where Kat and her father were sitting at, however she did not linger there for long periods of time. Instead she kept mostly to the crew cabin and latched onto whatever crew member wasn't trying to steer the boat.

So that was how most of the group came to the island and why there had been originally so many; it also explained more of how her father had known more than he had originally let on. Her thoughts ran back to the boy she had seen at the docks when her and her father had first come to the islands, had his parents been given an informal invite as well? If they did the family must have 'jumped island' already once they had understood what the general idea of the trek had been or had not gotten enough information initially and decided to leave while they could. While Crystal may have been elusive in any letters she may have sent out, she didn't seem to hold much back when face with a smaller land mass.

"Do you know anything about Kara's Keep?" Kat asked after several minutes of silence.

"Very little," Del said, then lowered his voice so that Kat had to lean towards him more to hear him well. "The natives on the main island say that Kara's Keep once was the location of Edward Castle during the last recorded of the Red Star, however that isn't proven. I assume that you know what Edward Castle is?"

"Vaguely." Kat had to admit she knew little of the history of the islands but knew enough of them to piece a bit here and there; she felt ashamed that with how much she knew about certain things with her father, she didn't about others. "My father didn't tell me much about it and am sad to say I should look more into the island's history."

"There isn't much to go on about the island, or anything about Edward Castle I'm afraid." Del gave another light shrug. "I have also heard rumors that there have been sightings of the Red Star several times near the constellation of Cygnus but that, like the rumor of Kara's Keep, is just something else that needs to be proven."

"But Crystal said..." she started before Del cut her off.

"You should not listen to some of the words in which that woman speaks." Del spoke in the same low voice, his eyes flickering up to the second level for a few seconds. "I cannot say that I trust her very well, if this is the amount of information she has given us."

"You believe she's holding something back?" Kat did her best to hold her smile back. So there was someone else that thought Crystal wasn't being all truthful about why they were going to the island. Did Chuck think this as well?

"She could very well be; I am not the only one who thinks so. Some people with us are just here to find what they can so that they can get paid for it, if they ever are." Del and Kat looked over towards Michael, who had gotten and was talking and laughing with other members of the group. That was the man that Kat remembered, laughing, smiling, and giving off the feeling of that even in the worst possible conditions, everything would be alright. Michael caught her eye and gave her a big smile and a nod. "I have not had the privilege to get to know your father since we arrived here but I can tell you he is not as I have heard of. There is something today I have noticed while we were gathered on the main island earlier and cannot put the right words to it."

"He said something about Crystal messing with his mind, like he was in some sort of daze where he didn't remember things after a short amount of time. At first I thought it was just because he wasn't the one who was guiding us but now with what he said about her, I'm thinking something else is wrong here." Kat turned away from her father and back to Del. "It could be both the island and this guide that's messing with him, I'm still nervous about going on this trek."

"Miss Kat," Del started, taking both of her hands into his, "I need you to keep your eyes open and your ears listening during the weeks ahead. I may not have gone on as many expeditions as the rest of them, you and your father included, but I know when there is trouble brewing. I know that this might sound harsh but perhaps it is in your best interest if you went with the group that your father is not going to be in. We are going into a territory that few would dare to enter even if they had permission to go into it."

Kat understood the point Del was making, understood it very well. She took no offense to it, in fact it only solidified her decision that she had tossed in her mind since they boarded the boat: she would be going with those that were going after the boy's statue. Her father wouldn't like it but if she stayed around Del and Chuck, she felt like she would be safe. She could learn things from them and they from her, if it was possible to do so.

The feeling she felt when they had left she shores grew steadily worse as the boat move forwards, their journey only beginning.

XXXX

The last half hour of the trip to the island was in silence, the group becoming quiet as they neared the distant shores of Kara's Keep. Even Del's friend, Chuck, had grown still as he moved over to the side of the boat where he leaned up against the railing. There were no more jokes from him as they came ever so closer to the sandy beach; even Michael was still as they came closer to their destination. The water was a lot calmer than it had been at the main island, which was calm all on its own but the water here seemed to stand almost still. Had the boat not been moving Kat would have thought they weren't moving at all and instead were just floating in the water.

Once the boat had scraped the hard shores of the island some of the team slowly got out and tied the boat to an old stump not far from the water. One by one they filed out once the boat was secure enough so it wouldn't drift away into the unknown parts of the ocean. Bags and equipment were brought onto the shore as a human conveyer belt moved them from one hand to another. As it had been on the main island it was Crystal, Michael, and Kat that was left behind on the boat to make sure that there was nothing left behind, even the captain had already gotten off the boat. This time, however, Kat had a sinking feeling in her stomach that Crystal had wanted to keep an eye on Michael to make sure he did not give any more warnings to his daughter. There was no turning back now that they were on the island.

She had not fully known how far they had actually traveled until she had gotten up onto the embankment of the sandy beach and looked around them. From what she had seen from the other islands, they were at least two and a half to three hours away from the main island; the smaller islands in between had to be at least thirty minutes away. Even though they had traveled some distance away and this was the last island in the chain, it possibly was the second biggest one with the main island being the first. The sandy beach reached for about a half of a mile from the shore before the untamed forest jungle moved in; from here there were few sounds from the jungle.

"We're here," Crystal announced, clapping her hands together for attention. Everyone turned to her, many looking nervously at the captain as though they were urging him to start the boat up again to take them away. "As some of you might want to, there is an expedition to find the boy's statue. While I don't exactly recommend finding it, you are free to do so as you chose." She looked around the group. "Those that are going for the statue of the boy stay put while the other part of the team will move forwards. We will meet together in this same spot in three weeks' time, please mark your planners as to when we are to meet again and keep up with it. If something should go wrong, many members of both parties have the essentials to get into contact with the other team. Only use electronic devices if you cannot work it out or if there is any trouble. Move out!"

Kat did not budge as the group that was looking for the other statue went forwards, Del and Chuck being two of them that was staying behind as well. Michael, like Kat had predicted, went with the group that Crystal was leading, not taking notice that his daughter was not going with him until he had almost gotten to the jungle. It took him a moment to turn around to look to see where Kat was at.

"Kat, come on. We're going to be left behind," he called out to her.

"I'm not going," she said as soon as her father came towards her with a cross look on his face. Her voice lowered when he came near her, her eyes staring at him coldly. "Not with her leading that group. I think I'll go with the group to look for the boy's statue, you go on ahead with the other group. I'll see you in three weeks."

"Kat, this isn't like you to be separated from me besides those few times that could not be helped." Michael looked worriedly at her. "Why all the sudden you don't like to go on a trek with your own father? At the dock you were so eager to go on this trip."

"It isn't you that I don't want to go with," she said sourly, noticing that Crystal had reappeared behind her father and was moving towards them with an angry stride.

"What is going on here?" Crystal demanded when she got up to them, her eyes flickering towards the father and daughter. "Why hasn't everyone joined their groups yet?"

"Kat was getting her bags read and was left behind," Michael said when he turned half way around. "She was just…."

"I was just telling my father that I would rather go look for the boy's statue than the other one," Kat intervened, her eyes staring at Crystal. "Because…"

"…I told her on the boat that the group looking for the boy's statue would probably see the ocean route of the island then the group looking for the other statue would," Del finished, coming up behind Kat and putting his hands on her shoulders. "Miss Kat had expressed that she would like to see the outskirts of the island first before going into the jungle."

Crystal opened her mouth to retort then closed it, her face moving into the same expression that it had been when she had been giving instructions on the main island. Her mind seemed to be taking in this excuse and was thinking about the situation carefully, weighing in the possibilities of getting rid of Kat of the duration of the expedition or having to be around her for several weeks straight. Then she sighed, shaking her head at a passing thought, turning around to keep her back on the girl.

'If she wants to go, let her go. I am sure she is old and experienced enough to be out on an island by herself. Besides, she seems to be in capable hands. Michael, hurry up as soon as you are done here; we won't be waiting long," she snapped over her shoulder as she walked away from them.

"Kat, do you really want to go with them?" Michael asked Kat, who seemed to be more focused on Crystal's retreating form then her father.

"Yes I do," she said a moment later, her eyes not faltering. Only when her father started to look into his bags did she move her gaze to him. "What are you looking for? I have that device you gave to me in my bag, the locator device you should have the second one of."

"I have that as well, but as I said on the main island I have your birthday present with me. I might as well give it to you now, since we'll be separated from each other," Michael said as he handed a small brown box to her. Kat took it with a bright smile, about to open it when he put a hand on her hands to keep the box closed. "Not now, not here. Wait until you are far enough away from the prying eyes of Crystal to open it. The only warning I can give to you, other then that, is that you open it by the light of the fire. Now go on the expedition and may the watchful eye of the Earth's Spirit watch over you."

With those words, Michael gave his daughter a hug and turned around, disappearing into the green of the forest jungle. Kat watched him go, unaware that Del was still holding onto her shoulders when he gave them a squeeze. She jumped slightly, nearly dropping the box as she looked up at his stern face.

"I gave you a cover story for you, so it is best that you stick with it for the next three weeks when you are not around myself or Chuck," he said in a gruff but soothing voice. "Do not underestimate anyone on this island that is on this expedition, there are things here that we do not know of."

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking at the forest.

"We'll soon find out if we're lucky." He gave her shoulders another squeeze for comfort; he dropped his arms to his sides and turned to the small group that had been watching the other group leave without much of a goodbye. Kat put the box into one of her bags, making a note to make sure she remembered which bag she had put it in. Del addressed them just like Crystal had, but with more emotion and less nervous looks from the group. "Now that has been settled, we will make a move along the outer ridges of the island until we reach a certain point. There we will stop for lunch and rest before heading into the forest itself. There are more things on this island that have a better value than a statue. Let's head on out once we've got our equipment settled."

With a few cheers of songs echoing in her ears, Kat picked up her bags and moved on with the group, her spirits lifting as the team moved along. Perhaps she and the others were just wrong about the experience as it was the first day jitters. They would find out soon enough.

XXXX

It was the journey deep into the heart of the jungle that worried Michael the least; it was the lack of sight of his daughter that kept him worried the most. Granted he couldn't remember the last time he had been in such a nervous condition, there still was a feeling of dread that washed over him every few moments and would not let him be. However feelings he had, Michael knew Kat could take care of herself in the forests of the islands and it was not like she was alone in the thickness of this unknown territory. It was also this same unknown territory that had started this worry and the woman who guided this part of the team only made things worse.

Kara's Keep had long since been fabled to hold legendary creatures of myth and was deeply rooted in such superstition that the elders and the council had refused many treks and expeditions to the island. It had only been in recent time, in the span of a year or more, that the elders had allowed few onto this island to see what actually lay on this island. Many of those that had come to the main island had believed these tales to be true and only a small few had dared to go on this island once before. Those that had come back from this island, come with the knight's statue in tow, had given the same story the storytellers had been talking of for generations: the whispers of the haunted isle were true.

No matter how many stories he had been told of his haunted place, Michael kept walking with the group. Crystal strode up at the front of the team, her eyes often moving side to side and behind her, to make sure that her set of people were still behind her. There were looks of the other team members as well, looks out into the jungle as though they believed a ghost from the past would come up next to them. However the stories were told, it would be nothing compared to what they would see on this island.

This team seemed uneasy overall but more about Crystal then the island itself; he could not see how much of it was towards her or how much faith they had in this trek. Each person was different, either looking at the jungle for their instructions or at the guide in front of them. They could also be looking for a way out of the forest and back upon the boat without any regard to the rest of the team. Michael knew how they felt; he, too, wanted to keep off of Kara's Keep but had waited almost a lifetime to be able to set foot on this island. Regardless of how his mind was in a haze, or how he felt about their guide, he knew there would not be a chance to do this again.

"There are several places where the statue might be locates, so if you come across something that is odd make sure to yell it out," Crystal called form the front. "I don't care how long it takes, we _need_ to find this statue. We won't eat if we can."

"Aren't we going to rest? Sounds like she is more worried about the treasures of this island rather than the health and sanity of the team," someone mumbled from behind Michael, his voice a little too high for comfort. Crystal suddenly stopped, her body turning around quickly as she stared at the team members behind Michael. Everyone stopped as well, their eyes looking around at each other and at her.

"If you want a rest, you can go with the other part of the team. We will rest but they will be far between, so I suggest taking as much from them as possible," she growled at them, turning back around and started moving again. Michael stared at the back of their guide, moving along with the group that was muttering mutinous words. There were so many questions he wanted to ask of her but he found the lack of courage fading away. He made a point to ask these questions once the expedition was over and done with so that he could back to his normal life as it were before.

Granted that anyone survived the trip.

XXXX

A pair of eyes had watched the team spilt into two different groups, one moving directly into the forest while the other took the beach route around the island. Instead of following the jungle-bound group, a shadowy figure moved along and through the outer forest. It would follow the other part of the group later, but for now it kept itself out of sight from this part of the team as possible; there would be no need to show itself just yet.

There was something about this group as a whole that it had not seen nor felt with the last one that had disturbed the island a year prior. That one there had been nothing that it could do about what had transpired, nothing that could be done now. The shadowy figure leapt onto a rock closest to the forest, keeping its body as hidden from this group as it possibly could. The stranger knelt upon one knee on the stone, its eyes starting out to one side of the rock to keep its eyes on the beach-going group; the other part of the team would not see it, as it was too far inside the forest to properly see it. The beach-side group had a better chance of spotting it then the jungle-side group had; however, there still was no real danger of being seen. Not with how much experience this shadow had.

Settling its hands on the rock, it watched the group closely in its spot until the group was no longer in sight. A sigh escaped its lips, a whisper of wind going around it before it, like the too calm water, died off into the jungle behind it. If the telling of the signs were correct, if the wind had not lied to them, then soon the disturbance that had rattled the island would come to a close. Perhaps then it could go back into its slumber that was never to have been disturbed in the first place.

Until Next Time

Author's Note: **Chapters will start to be really pushing a 5,000 to 5,500 word count for the next couple of chapters, if not past 6,000 words by the end of the ninth, maybe tenth, chapter. A chapter or two may dip towards the 4,000 word area, but that has yet to be seen.**


	8. Chapter 7: Out From The Darkness

Legends: Beginnings

Disclaimer: **I do not own anything that is related, remotely related, or is in the game, **_Illusion of Gaia_**. It is owned by Enix and all related companies. All Original Characters, Stories, and anything that is not in, related to, or remotely related to the game, was solely created for creative and entertainment purposes. Thank you for your time.**

Chapter Seven – **Out From The Darkness**

Hours had passed since the boat had landed upon Kara's Keep and the expedition team had split into two different parties, however it did not seem like a mere few hours to Kat. She felt the weight of the bags she carried already and not even half of a day had passed since the trek had started. She wondered why she had even gotten out of bed that morning to go with her father even though he now was many miles away from her at this point. Not even the semi-cool breeze helped the sweat stay off of her forehead. In her head she complained to herself, in actuality she still felt ashamed of herself; she had been in worse conditions than this. So why was she feeling like she should have stayed on the docks with her mother and brother? She had to counter her feelings with Crystal, instead of feeling as though she should've stayed away.

The team was a few minutes shy of lunch and a rest stop before they would go back on their journey and head into the forest jungle. Kat was glad they would be going into that jungle, the sand stinging her exposed skin when it came up from the movement of her feet. She was all too glad to finally reach the place Del had seen from a distance as their resting point, all too hungry to be going much further. It was odd to be this hungry already, she had a decent sized breakfast and a snack on the boat; it had more to do with the heat than the actual trip itself.

Once they had settled down on the different rocks that were scattered about, she looked on as her team pulled out bags of sandwiches and chips to eat; some had even climbed up coconut trees and brought some down for the team to eat and drink out of. She then fumbled around in one of the bags she was carrying, eventually pulling out a bag of pretzels to eat. Unfortunately, the box her father had given her had fallen out while she was pushing things around the bag. It made quite the sound when it fell down the rock and into the sand; she winced as several members looked over at her to see what had happened and if anything was wrong.

"What's that?" Someone asked as Kat pulled the box up out of the sand and brushed the sand off of it.

"It's a birthday present my father gave to me. Don't know what it is, really," she said, tempted to open it despite her father's warning about opening the box by firelight.

"Well open it up," another voice piped up. Kat looked around the group, few others paying attention to her; Del and Chuck were among those who were not even looking at her. She put down the pretzel bag and put both of her hands on the small box. Despite her father's earlier warning, she carefully opened the lid in expectation of seeing something worthwhile. Instead a silver ring sat upon a brown pillow, a small onyx stone held in the center of the silver ring. The stone did not glisten in the sunlight like it should have, dull and old from possibly being in the box for so long.

Seeing that her birthday present was a mere ring was a sudden deflation from earlier, when Michael had handed her the box. While she did wear jewelry on occasion, the last thing she had ever asked for was a necklace or a ring. Her father knew better then to give her a piece of jewelry unless she had picked it out beforehand. This was something that she had expected her mother to give to her, not her father; books and money was more of what she expected from her father. It was not even a pretty ring but rather something she would have seen from a seedy marketplace or even a low-budget tourist destination.

Some of the group members had moved to see what she had gotten, Del looking over at her, his conversation with Chuck coming to a complete halt. When Kat took the ring out to examine it further, she heard several people moving off of their rocks to come closer. She looked up from the ring to see that most of the group had gathered in a semi-circle around her, their eyes staring intently at the ring. She backed up some, clasping a hand over the ring as if to shield it from them. What had suddenly gotten into them?

"What is it?" She asked, confused at how the team had gathered around her to look at a small, useless piece of costume jewelry.

"I never saw a more beautiful ring in my life," someone said, licking their lips. They started to move towards her more, Kat backing up each time they advanced towards her.

"Alright you, shoo. It's just a ring," Del said, waving his hands for attention. When he didn't get any response from the group, he sighed and got in between them and Kat as best as he could. "Best bet to put the damned thing back into the box and quickly."

Kat looked at him weirdly but moved the ring back into the box as quickly as she could. Once the ring was back onto the pillow and the box closed, it was like a spell had been broken. Some of the team members stopped trying to get around Del when the ring had gotten out of sight, their eyes looking around them as they stared at each other. Others stood there like they had been sleep walking, looking confuses as if they did not know how they had gotten off of their rock. Slowly they went back to their own spaces, mumbling to themselves about things that were trying to control them and the effects of the island. Del hung back with Kat, who was looking between him, the box, and the rest of the group at the confusion that had just happened. He turned to her once he was sure that no one else would try anything, his eyes darting to the box.

"Don't open it again until nightfall when we have a chance to make a fire," he instructed, moving his eyes away from the box. "That ring looked like it might have caused you more harm than good a few seconds ago."

"What was wrong with them?" She asked, looking down at the box before returning her eyes back up at him. "It's just a ring, what's the harm in having it?"

"There's something going on this island, maybe those old storytellers were right about something," Del said with a forced smile. "Whatever birthday present your father gave you today, it looks like it may just be something that's more than a piece of costume jewelry. I advise you not to wear it or take it out of the box." He straightened his back, and then turned around to walk back to Chuck. "Let's eat now, best if we keep our energy up."

Kat stared after him, her heart racing just like her knees were beginning to shake. The ring had made all of them advance on her life they wanted to pry the ring from her fingers, as though it was more than what it appeared to be. What was so special about a ring that looked dull, worthless, and probably was just an old piece of rubbish? Her father wouldn't have placed something into her hands if he knew it was going to bring harm to her, not unless he had no other choice. Or had Crystal put him up to it?

She sighed, going back to her belongings so that she could put the box back into her bags. At least three members of the group were watching her with more interest they before, Kat getting back onto her rock and to her pretzels. As she ate slowly, she kept the bag with the ring box closest to her in case she needed to grab it quickly and move further away from the rest of the team. Chuck and Del were the only two standing, keeping an eye on her and the rest of the group as they ate; this was not the way she had wanted to spend the first rest period of the trek.

By the time they had finished eating, a half hour had passed and the tide was coming in. It got to a point where Kat had to pick up her bags and put them by her side in plain view of the rest of the group. It was either have them tear the bags apart to get to the box or have her equipment become useless by the salty water. She would rather have her bags become soaked with water then have them torn to pieces but she could always lie about the ring being lost, the equipment not so much. There were a couple of items in those bags that would cost more than a trinket could and some things that were not even replaceable.

She was glad they were finally moving on, her bags back upon her back and shoulders and her body moving with the rest of the group. She noticed that several of her fellow team members were sticking closer to her, either biding their time to steal the box or waiting to bring it out again so that they wouldn't have the need to rummage through her bags to take it. Whatever their intentions were, Kat sped up so that she was right behind Del and his friend Chuck. They were talking in hushed voices, neither one of them glancing back at the team as they entered the forest. There was a crude map of Kara's Keep between them and it hardly looked even complete; it must have been from the previous trek. She figured that the map, and even the boy's statue, weren't the topic of their conversation.

It was Chuck that looked back to see Kat was closer to them then the rear. He nudged Del, who nodded and took the map, rooking it up as the two of them moved on either side of her. Chuck took hold of Kat's right arm, pulling her forwards some as Del came up on her left, the map rolled up in his right hand.

"Del says you have a birthday present from your father," Chuck said in a calm voice although Kat suspected he already knew what was inside the box. "Sounds like it was really popular with the rest of the group earlier."

"Point we want to make with you is that you don't seem to have something ordinary you just _happened_ to have gotten from your father who just _happened_ to have gotten it for his daughter for her birthday," Del said, smiling sweetly at her. "And I don't think he just _happened_ to have waited to give it to you on this expedition either."

"If you are both trying to get me to take it out again," Kat started, looking at Del first then at Chuck, who had just dropped her arm, "then it's not going to work. I learned my lesson."

"As much as I would like to see the ring again, we are not," Chuck said. "Quite on the contrary, we _want_ that thing to be hidden. Especially on _this_ island and with Crystal on it as it were. At least until we find the other two statues, if we can find them at all."

"You don't think we'll find them?" Kat looked between the two again. "I thought the whole point was to find them and bring them back to the elders."

"That is what Crystal _wants _you to think. I'm not so sure these elders were so keen on locating something that's supposed to be heavily shrouded in local folklore," Chuck advised her, pushing a branch out of their way. "We know we're on the path to look for them, I don't doubt they are hidden and hidden _well_. This is an island that few were allowed on, up until very recently, an island that even fewer wanted to come to willingly, including us."

"There is no trust in her, which is no secret among both of the teams. We know it, so does she up to a point. I doubt she cares whether or not anyone trusts her as long as they _go_ with her," Del said. "We've been talking to the rest of the group prior to this morning, well before we started out on this little expedition. Know how many people have left already? Well, it was hell to get that many people to answer Crystal's letter in the first place, especially those that have not even heard of Crystal before."

"Most of the group as a whole only came because they somehow heard your father was going with this little trip," Chuck added in, then gestured between himself and Del. "The two of us included. We came because we knew your father would be a part of the expedition, thinking that maybe Crystal was studying under him and was told to send out these letters as a way to get people excited about a new expedition. It also would look good on our resumes, that we were on an expedition on a rarely walked on island with the famous Michael Porter."

"No one has had any experience with her, not anyone that came with us. Not even your father and I am going to take a wild guess that you haven't either." Del took her nods and shakings of her head to indicate that she had not heard of nor been on treks with Crystal either. "Very few people, male and female alike, guide people through nearly uncharted land with little experience in them. They let someone else do that and get some much needed experience.

"Remember what I told you earlier about her appearing out of nowhere a couple years ago? And you told me that there was no way she could've stayed out of your father's radar for that long?" Kat nodded, remembering the short conversation she had with Del on the boat ride to the island. "I don't see how she could have stayed low for that long either, even the natives have very little interaction with her. It is as though she stayed out of the way long enough to not be remembered so vividly."

"There couldn't be any possible way she was living in the island for that long," Kat said slowly, thinking back at the last couple of summers. She remembered only a few of the people who stayed on the island year-round that were not native to the island itself, her father included – Crystal was not one of them. "I cannot place her anywhere, and I've been coming to the island since I was a little girl and well before my father lived there. The last outsider to get permission to live on the island year-round was my father and he's been living there for the last ten years or so." Her face scrunched up in confusion, more so to her own memories then what the two of them were trying to tell her. "Exactly what are you two getting at? Because I'm already confused as to what is going on and why we really are here for."

"We don't know and neither does the rest of the group other than to find these so-called 'statues'. Not that we don't believe they exist, because they do. That knight's statue on the other island isn't normal. We do believe that the elders think we're going to locate the other statues and bring them back," Chuck said. "But that is another topic for another time, I think. It is the ring we are more interested in then what Crystal is and how she got here."

"What does that piece of costume jewelry have to do with this?" She demanded. The last thing on her mind was the stupid ring she had been handed to her; she should've told her father to wait until they got back to the main island after the trek was over to give her the ring.

"Think of where we are, Kat," Del said softly, gesturing to the dense forest they were plowing through. "Your father didn't barter for that ring somewhere on the island, and the port's shops don't have anything like that in them. It looks like something valuable Michael wanted to give to you and the best way to do it seemed to be away from the prying eyes of Crystal."

"It might have something to do with this island, with the statues, or something else altogether." Chuck rubbed the back of his neck. "I wouldn't doubt the ring is more than a piece of junk if we weren't where we are now, but think of it as you will for now."

"Okay so if he didn't get it from the island or the port, I'd like to know _how_ he got it and _where_," she said, looking from one to the other once again. "And _why_ he gave to me if he knew it was valuable, I have a place in his home to hide valuable things at. He has given me valuable things before."

"We don't know where he got it from or the true reason why he gave it to you. Perhaps he found it on a previous expedition and thought it would make a nice birthday present for you." Del shrugged. "I – we – don't know your father well enough personally to understand his actions. But I will say is that the actions of the rest of the group earlier was not normal, not for a 'piece of junk'."

"Point is, Kat," Chuck started, "is that whatever goes on during _this_ expedition, don't doubt it was because of our wonderful guide. From what I've heard about this place, I wouldn't go pass this island to be doing some weird stuff along the way. Things can go wrong no matter how great or terrible the leadership is."

"However that may be," Del put in, "we could be wrong on all accounts and we've been wrong before, so don't hold anything we say to heart. If nothing happens on this expedition like we have been _assured _nothing will, then we will find some way to repay you for all the things we have told you since we met on the boat."

"There's no need for you two to do anything like that, honestly," she said quickly, waving her hands at them. "It's better to know things, even if there is a chance the information is wrong, then to go into something blind. If I didn't know better, I'd think you be crazy to be telling me these things. Maybe the storytellers were right, maybe they're wrong, but if something can happen on this island then why are we here? Why did the tribal council and the elders let _another_ expedition find two more statues to see if they were intact if the first one isn't going to be touched at all? If Crystal says as much about what she's been doing the last few years, then why are there so few people who've seen her?"

"Those questions we can't really answer, Kat, since we don't know the answers to them. I wouldn't be surprised if more than half of the team combined doesn't know what is waiting for them on this island except for the things they've heard." Chuck helped Kat over a large tree root as he glanced back at the rest of the team. They were trudging along at a decent pace and as Kat looked back as well, almost everyone seemed to be in conversation or were looking around at various plants and trees. Some were even taking notes as they went along; she guessed that the ring was now out of their thoughts. "Some of these things we have only found out since we've arrived on the main island, some of it is only guess work."

"Just don't wander off with any other member of the team if it's not myself or Chuck, no matter what. We can guarantee that they won't act like they did on the beach," Del advised, doing the same as Kat and Chuck had done and looked back at the rest of their team. "You are the only other female on this team, and I don't trust them to attempt to do something worse on you other than steal a ring. Try to stay as close to us as you can, mostly during the night hours."

"I understand," Kat answered, nodding at their request. She knew that they were only looking out for her, where her father could not as he possibly was further away from them now. Del and Chuck would take up for Michael's absence as much as they could; it was oddly strange how calm she was with them as they moved along. Some fanned out in search for any signs of recent disturbances or traces of old structures. If what was in the stories were true, then why would there be any traces of an old, ancient castle standing on a small island? It was not like they were in a larger country where the land hadn't exactly moved into a smaller mass in hundreds of years.

Sighing, Kat rubbed the back of her head as she continued to follow Del and Chuck. Only a small part of her wished she was with her father, wherever he was on the island.

XXXX

Michael felt rather content on continuing to sit where he was on at the moment, which was a log that had fallen some ages before. Although he had only eaten half of a sandwich and an apple, he felt full and calmer then he had at the start of the trek. Several of the other team members had not bothered to satisfy the pangs of hunger, rather refusing to eat for the moment then get some strength back into their bodies. Crystal had disappeared almost as soon as they had stopped for their rest period, her lack of presence around them going unnoticed by a few. Many simply did not seemed to care what happened to her while she was gone, hoping that perhaps she would stay that way rather than lead the group. Some had asked Michael if they waited only a short while later, would he be the default leader.

This rest point had been, surprisingly, set by their guide. Crystal had made her point clear, several times in the last several hours in fact and even before they stopped, that they were not going to stay long nor were they going to have many more resting periods in which to gather their strength. That had been nearly forty-five minutes ago, her disappearance lasting around forty of those minutes; that was enough time for Michael to assume that maybe Crystal had gotten lost in the wilds of the island. It wouldn't be the first time someone left and had not returned as the world was a strange place. If she did not come back soon, they would have to break the camp and move on out; even the ones who were taking a short nap would have to be woken or otherwise be left behind on a rather mysterious island.

Michael was just about to stand up and call for everyone to gather their belongings, wake up those who were napping, and head on out but stopped as a rustling came not far from where the group was resting. Michael and few others closest to it looked towards the brush just as the leaves, branches, and twigs stopped moving, their hands moving instinctually towards whatever object they could use as a weapon. No one said anything, their eyes watching and moving around to see if anything would jump forwards and attack them, they kept watch for several minutes before relaxing. There was nothing there, perhaps nothing more than small animal that wanted to poke their nose out to see what was disturbing their home.

Just as he relaxed back and started to put his canteen back into his backpack, shouts of confusion and surprise rose up from the team. Snapping his head up, Michael rose from his sitting position to see why there was now panic among his fellow team members. He looked around to see what was causing such a ruckus in the area in front of him, thinking that perhaps their assertion of the movement had been wrong and there was a wild animal ready to attack. When he found there was nothing in front of him, it was only when Michael looked at several of the group members did his back stiffen up. The group had fallen deathly silent and was looking over his shoulder at something behind him. He first thought Crystal had finally returned and was standing behind him, waiting for him to take notice that she wanted his attention like she had with the rest of the team.

That assumption was wrong as he turned around to greet who he thought was Crystal and instead stared almost directly into the eyes of a complete stranger. Michael jumped back, nearly tripping over smaller rocks and almost fell flat on his back at the surprise he had received. A man stood there, his blue eyes staring coldly at each person in turn, his long blonde hair flowing down just past his waist. His armor reflected off of the sunlight, his sword held firmly in his left hand; the point was held downwards but they knew that point could easily come up quickly. Although he did not express anything on his face, his lips were pushed into a thin line and the coldness of his eyes radiated out. He did little but take a step towards Michael, his eyes on him except for another brief moment when he looked at the rest of the group, who began to turn and run in the direction they had seen Crystal go in.

"Cowards," the stranger said in a rather unusual hallow but low voice. Everyone, with the exception of Michael, had run out of fear of seeing what they thought was just a story appearing out of nowhere. He kept his attention on the lone member of the group who had stayed, not because he was brave but out of fear that had claimed the others. "I did not expect someone to come so soon and with so many, not like the last time. I can't be sure how long it's been since they were here."

Michael stayed rooted where he was, his mouth opening and closing without any words coming out of his mouth as he shook his head. The last team to have come to this island was close to a year ago when they had brought back the knight's statue and here that same knight stood, watching Michael with interest rather than anger. Had they, too, seen this knight that was out of place on this island? Michael could not think past the last people allowed here at this point, too stunned to think of anything else or say anything out loud.

"Maybe you are just as much of a coward as they are, but maybe not as much since you did not run away." The knight walked around him, poking his sword gently at the bags near Michael and looking him up and down. It was only two minutes before the knight came full circle but to Michael, it seemed like hours. "As I have no other to ask since your companions ran off, you will have to do. I am looking for something of value, something that had been lost to us but now has returned."

"What are you looking for?" Michael asked, surprising even himself at how steady his voice was and his ability to finally speak.

"So you _do_ speak, here I thought you were a mute." The knight's lips broke out into a patronizing smile. "What I am looking for is a ring. It had been taken by someone like you, a traveler, a wayfarer, a vagabond, an explorer, or whatever you call yourself in this age. A thief is what I should call you. Where is it?"

"What ring?" Michael asked, his face going pale. Suddenly thoughts of his daughter flashed through his mind and the box he had given her; had her natural curiosity gotten a hold of her? Did she open the box already even though he had told her not to open it unless it was by the light of a fire? "I don't know what you're talking about, I have no ring."

"I know _you_ don't have it, but I'm not so convinced you are as stupid as you're trying to sound. I'll make it as simple as I can however: it is a silver ring with an onyx stone set in silver prongs. The stone is dull unless worn by someone with even the smallest of Dark Essence." The knight's face turned from nearly expressionless to annoyed. "Maybe that description will help."

"I gave my daughter a ring for her birthday, she is with the other half of the group," Michael said before he could stop the words from coming out of his mouth. His legs soon gave way and he fell to his knees, his heart beating fast, his mouth dry. He had just given the knight the knowledge that there were more people on this island, the knight looking at the man on his knees with a snarl on his face. "I don't care what you do to me, just don't harm my daughter. She does not have your ring."

"We shall see if you are lying to me or not," he said, turning around on his heels and striding away without another look behind him. He disappeared into the thickness of the jungle minutes later, leaving Michael to kneel where he was. If he was going after Kat and the other half of the group, Michael didn't know; the last thing he needed to be doing was kneeling on the ground in fear.

No matter how many times he tried to stand up, Michael's legs were still too wobbly to support his full weight. Wildly looking around to see if anyone was coming back – the knight, Crystal, the rest of the team, anyone – Michael grabbed the rock he had been sitting on and attempted to pull himself up into a semi-standing position. His head felt light when he leaned on the rock, his senses fighting in a vain attempt to regain control of his body. The world spun around him, Michael closing his eyes in an attempt to stop this spinning from making his head feel worse than it was. It was only seconds before his mind closed down completely, his body falling back onto the ground behind him.

He did not know anything after that.

Until Next Time


End file.
